Habitat use of coypus (Myocastor coypus) in agro-systems of the Argentinean Pampas

Abstract

Habitat use by coypu Myocastor coypus (Molina, 1782) was studied in agro-systems of the Pampas grasslands, Argentina. We analysed two dimensions of the habitat: perpendicular and parallel to the water source. The perpendicular dimension covered three distinct areas: border of the stream, interface, and crops, while the parallel dimension involved the use of different crop types. We worked at two study sites, Mechongué (winter 1995 summer 1996) and Lujan (winter 1997). At Mechongué, we conducted four seasonal samples using an indirect method of counting faeces to estimate abundance of coypu. Along the perpendicular dimension, coypus used the border significantly more than the interface and the crops. The relative use of the border increased over the study period. Parallel to the water source, crops were avoided and pastures were preferred. At the Lujan study site, we observed the behaviour of coypu by recording activity and use of cover types at different distances from the stream. Coypu spent most of their active time foraging (80.5%). Ninety-two percent of the bouts took place less than 4 m from the pond. Coypus did not move more than 10 m away from the pond and did not use the crops. These results disagree with the claim that coypus are a risk to croplands in their native range.