Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri, Sesto Fiorentino (Firenze), Italy.
Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'Analisi dell'Economia Agraria (CREA), Firenze, Italy.
Naturwissenschaften. 2024 Aug 2;111(5):42. doi: 10.1007/s00114-024-01928-2.
Monitoring and management of alien coypu (Myocastor coypus) is a key issue in Europe since this species has been included in the EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation 1143/2014. Thus, controlling the population of this rodent is considered as imperative by wildlife managers. Coypu management in urban areas is crucial considering potential conflicts with human activities. The aim of this study is to investigate citizens' knowledge, perceptions and opinions towards the presence and management of coypu in a case study in Central Italy (the Serravalle urban park, Tuscany). The survey was administered to a subset of municipal residents and garnered responses from 281 park visitors. The outcomes showed a high level of knowledge of respondents: 99.3% of total respondents had heard of coypu before this survey, and 93.9% were able to distinguish the coypu from the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber). Despite the importance of coypu control in invaded countries, our results highlight that most respondents are against the removal of coypu, with the exception of most young, highly-educated and upperclass men, but favouring sterilization over capture and population control. Findings of this study could assist managers in enhancing the efficacy of management efforts via an information initiative involving the general public. Achieving this goal may entail improved communication by wildlife managers, which is imperative for optimizing management strategies regarding alien species.
监测和管理外来海狸鼠（Myocastor coypus）是欧洲的一个关键问题，因为该物种已被列入欧盟《入侵外来物种法规 1143/2014》。因此，控制这种啮齿动物的数量被野生动物管理者视为当务之急。考虑到与人类活动的潜在冲突，城市地区的海狸鼠管理至关重要。本研究旨在调查意大利中部一个案例研究中（托斯卡纳的 Serravalle 城市公园）市民对海狸鼠的存在和管理的了解、看法和意见。该调查针对市政居民的一个子样本进行，并从 281 名公园游客中收集了答复。结果显示，受访者的知识水平很高：99.3%的总受访者在此调查之前听说过海狸鼠，93.9%的人能够将海狸鼠与欧亚河狸（Castor fiber）区分开来。尽管在入侵国家控制海狸鼠很重要，但我们的结果表明，大多数受访者反对移除海狸鼠，除了大多数年轻、受过高等教育和上层阶级的男性，但赞成对其进行绝育而非捕捉和种群控制。本研究的结果可以通过一项涉及公众的信息倡议来帮助管理者提高管理工作的成效。实现这一目标可能需要野生动物管理者改进沟通，这对于优化针对外来物种的管理策略至关重要。
