Coypu (Myocastor coypus Molina, 1782) feeding on algae: first evidence for Europe
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Abstract
In this note we report the first direct evidence for Europe of coypus (Myocastor coypus) feeding on freshwater algae. Coypus fed on green algae of the genus Spirogyra (Zygne-matophyceae) in a Mediterranean coastal wetland of central Italy (Torre Flavia) where Spirogy- ra represents the most spread filamentous macroalgal stands. By analyzing Spirogyra stands, we also detected the presence of microalgae which, in turn, have been indirectly ingested by coypus: ulnaria capitata, navicula sp., nitzschia sp. (Bacillariophyceae), netrium digitus (Zygnematophyceae), and Phacus sp. (Euglenophyceae). other taxa of green macroalgae, such as Cladophora glomerata and ulva intestinalis (Ulvophyceae), were commonly recorded in the same area, however there is no evidence that they were consumed by coypus
DOI: 10.57890/VIEMILIEU/2022.72.1/2:31-34
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