Flyway Nights Speaker Series: Nutria in California

Flyway Nights is a monthly speaker series highlighting environmental issues, natural history of Northern California and current research topics in conservation.

Nutria (Myocastor coypus) is a species of aquatic rodent native to South America. Previously thought to have been eradicated from California, a population of nutria was found in Merced County in 2017, and since found in five other Counties in the San Joaquin Valley. Nutria can degrade the integrity of levees due to burrowing. They also are intensive herbivores that can destroy native plant populations and wetland habitats leaving behind exposed soils and open water. Martha Volkoff will provide details of the current status and extent of the nutria population in California as well as what steps are being taken to control this destructive invasive.

Martha Volkoff is the Invasive Species Program Manager at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Martha has a B.S. and M.S. in Conservation Biology.