![]() ![]() Often only the basal internodes of cut plants are eaten. Sugarcane stalks are often gnawed or cut during the growing season. Grazing on rice plants can significantly reduce yields, and damage can be locally severe. In the United States, sugarcane and rice are the primary crops damaged by nutria. Nutria depredation on crops is well documented. Rain and wave action can wash out and enlarge collapsed burrows and compound the damage. Burrows can weaken roadbeds, stream banks, dams, and dikes, which may collapse when the soil is saturated by rain or high water, or when subjected to the weight of heavy objects on the surface (such as vehicles, farm machinery, or grazing livestock). ![]() They may burrow under buildings, which may lead to uneven settling or failure of the foundations. Nutria sometimes burrow into the styrofoam flotation under boat docks and wharves, causing these structures to lean and sink. In some cases, tunneling in these levees is so extensive that water will flow unobstructed from one side to the other, necessitating their complete reconstruction. Additionally, nutria burrows sometimes weaken flood control levees that protect low-lying areas. Nutria are notorious in Louisiana and Texas for undermining and breaking through water-retaining levees in flooded fields used to produce rice and crawfish. The numerous natural and human-made waterways that traverse this area are used extensively for travel by nutria.īurrowing is the most commonly reported damage caused by nutria. ![]() In the United States, most damage occurs along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas. Most damage is from feeding or burrowing. Nutria damage has been observed throughout their range. ![]()
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