Modeling the spread of invasive nutrias (Myocastor coypus) over Iran

Abstract

Nutria (Myocastor coypus) is a native aquatic rodent to South America, and was introduced to Europe,<br><br>Asia, Africa and North America for fur farming. The South American nutria or coypu is now considered a<br><br>pest in the area of introduction, because of its negative impact on biological diversity and ecological<br><br>relationships. Having information on the invasion range of exotic species is crucial for understanding the<br><br>ecology of invasive spread and for making good conservation and management planning to address this<br><br>problem. At the beginning of the 20th century, nutria was introduced into Asia. Nutria was recorded for<br><br>the first time in Iran in 1995. In the present study we proposed a multiple spatial scale approach to<br><br>predict the invasion trends of the nutria in Iran, and to define up the ‘‘suitable scale’’ for predicting the<br><br>invasion trends of this species. Our results highlighted the importance of environmental variables<br><br>including vegetation density (for food and nesting) and water resource (streams, rivers, and lakes) in<br><br>distribution of the nutria. Potential areas for the presence of the nutria are located near the Caspian Sea,<br><br>west and central Iran which receive more precipitation than other parts of the country. Therefore, these<br><br>parts of Iran may face a much greater risk of invasion risk in the future. Moreover, these results can show<br><br>the possible risk of nutria invasion to the northern and western neighbors of Iran.