這種20磅重的入侵嚙齒動物可能會摧毀加州的農(nóng)業(yè)

這種20磅重的入侵嚙齒動物可能會摧毀加州的農(nóng)業(yè)

Here are some things you should know about nutria. They are a semiaquatic South American rodent a bit smaller than a beaver. Females can give birth three times a year and have up to 12 babies each litter. They are really good at tearing up crops, burrowing tunnels into levees, and other destructive behavior that is tough on farmers. And they've been discovered in California's San Joaquin Valley, a major food-producing area.

這里有一些關(guān)于海貍鼠你應(yīng)該知道的事情。它們是一種半水生的南美洲嚙齒動物，比海貍略小。雌性每年可生育三次，每胎最多可生育12個嬰兒。它們非常擅長撕毀莊稼，在堤壩上挖洞，以及其他對農(nóng)民不利的破壞性行為。它們是在加利福尼亞的圣華金谷被發(fā)現(xiàn)的，這是一個主要的食物生產(chǎn)區(qū)。

Nutria are semiaquatic rodents with a prolific appetite, which spells problems for California. (Photo: LucieBartikova/Shutterstock)

All of these facts spell huge problems for California officials tasked with the complicated task of removing these rodents from the state.

所有這些事實都給肩負著將這些嚙齒類動物趕出加州這一復(fù)雜任務(wù)的加州官員帶來了巨大的問題。

Nutria are already an invasive species wreaking havoc in Louisiana, Oregon and Maryland. They can quickly turn a wetland into a mudflat as they chomp down on plants. So when the species was spotted in Merced County, California, in March of 2017, officials knew exactly how worried they should be.

海貍鼠已經(jīng)是一種入侵物種，在路易斯安那州、俄勒岡州和馬里蘭州肆虐。它們可以很快地把濕地變成泥灘，因為它們會吃掉植物。因此，當2017年3月在加州默塞德郡發(fā)現(xiàn)該物種時，官員們清楚地知道他們應(yīng)該有多擔(dān)心。

Equal opportunity offenders

機會均等的罪犯

Nutria have enormous potential not only to damage the infrastructure critical to delivering water to cities and farms, but they also threaten wetlands and riparian habitat as well as existing restoration projects. They can carry tuberculosis, septicemia, tape worm and other parasites that can contaminate water supplies. They are certainly not a welcome visitor, and they can quickly become an expensive problem.

海貍鼠不僅對向城市和農(nóng)場供水至關(guān)重要的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施有巨大的潛力破壞，而且它們還威脅到濕地和河岸棲息地以及現(xiàn)有的恢復(fù)項目。它們能攜帶肺結(jié)核、敗血癥、磁帶蟲和其他能污染水源的寄生蟲。它們肯定不受歡迎，而且很快就會成為一個代價高昂的問題。

"Within five years, the state estimates there could be nearly a quarter million nutria chewing up California's endangered wetlands," reports The Sacramento Bee.

《薩克拉門托蜜蜂報》報道說:“據(jù)加州估計，在五年內(nèi)，將有近25萬只海貍鼠啃食加州瀕臨滅絕的濕地。”

Since they were discovered in California in 2017, more than 700 nutria have been trapped and killed.

自2017年在加州發(fā)現(xiàn)海貍鼠以來，已有700多只海貍鼠被困并被殺死。

" They're incredibly prolific, which is why we have to get on it quickly," said Peter Tira, a spokesman for CDFW, told the Los Angeles Times in February. "They're a threat to our multibillion-dollar agricultural economy, and they're a public safety threat. If they get entrenched in the [San Joaquin River] Delta, they pose a huge threat to our water. It would be hard to get them out of there, and it would have consequences for the whole state."

CDFW的發(fā)言人Peter Tira在二月份接受《洛杉磯時報》采訪時說，“它們是對我們數(shù)十億美元農(nóng)業(yè)經(jīng)濟的威脅，也是對公共安全的威脅。如果它們在(圣華金河)三角洲扎根，將對我們的水資源構(gòu)成巨大威脅。要讓他們離開那里很難，這將對整個州產(chǎn)生影響。”

In an effort to get ahead of the invasion, CDFW has received $10 million in 2019 in state funds to eradicate nutria. Another proposed bill would award $7 million to CDFW over five years to combat the rodents' spread, reports SF Gate.

為了趕在入侵之前，CDFW在2019年收到了1000萬美元的國家基金，用于根除海貍鼠。據(jù)SF Gate報道，另一項提案將在五年內(nèi)向CDFW撥款700萬美元，以遏制這種嚙齒類動物的傳播。

It will take time and a significant amount of effort and funding, but officials feel confident they can get a handle on the nutria problem. And farmers are keeping their fingers crossed that the rodents don't advance further into the delta.

這將需要時間、大量的努力和資金，但官員們相信他們能夠解決海貍鼠問題。農(nóng)民們祈禱這些嚙齒類動物不會進一步進入三角洲。

”It would be devastating," Merced County farmer Stan Silva told KQED. "They can basically ruin the ag industry here — they get in your fields, burrow into your canal ways, your waterways."

“這將是毀滅性的，”默塞德縣農(nóng)民斯坦席爾瓦告訴KQED。“它們基本上可以毀掉這里的農(nóng)業(yè)——它們進入你的農(nóng)田，挖洞進入你的運河和水道。”