Available online
Description
This programme is about how some coypu which escaped from fur farms in East Anglia in the 1930s have established themselves as an ecologically and economically important group. The external feature...s of coypus are described on a captive specimen. The history of introduction, spread, and subsequent control of the wild coypu population is shown on film. coypu trappers supply the corpses for dissection which provide the biologists with important ecological data. The population dynamics of a wild and enclosed study population are described and compared, and the influence of trapping as a control measure discussed.
This programme is about how some coypu which escaped from fur farms in East Anglia in the 1930s have established themselves as an ecologically and economically important group. The external feature...s of coypus are described on a captive specimen. The history of introduction, spread, and subsequent control of the wild coypu population is shown on film. coypu trappers supply the corpses for dissection which provide the biologists with important ecological data. The population dynamics of a wild and enclosed study population are described and compared, and the influence of trapping as a control measure discussed.
| Module code and title: | S323, Ecology |
|---|---|
| Item code: | S323; 13 |
| First transmission date: | 20-08-1974 |
| Published: | 1974 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:24:20 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Neil Cleminson |
| Contributors: | Morris Gosling; Peggy Varley |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Coypu biology; East Anglia; Fur farms; Pest control; Population dynamics; Porcupine |
| Footage description: | Aerial and ground shots of the Fens. Commentary by Peggy Varley describes the Fen environment. Several shots of coypu in the water. Morris Gosling at the MAFF Coypu Research Laboratory picks up a female coypu and describes the animal. He also discusses the background to the introduction of coypu to Great Britain. Peggy Varley provides commentary for a film sequence which examines the commercial exploitation of coypu, the reason for their Introduction to Britain. She explains also how coypus established themselves in the wild. Shots of coypus and their young in the wild. Shots of agricultural damage done by coypus. Shots of coypus being trapped and shot and taken to the Coypu Research Laboratory for study. Shots of Morris Gosling in his laboratory at the MAFF Coypu Laboratory. He dissects a coypu carcass in order to determine four sets of data on the animal. Gosling measures and weighs the animal before dissection. Gosling dissects out the lower jaw and eyeballs of the animal. Gosling next cuts out the animals inquinal fat pad which is weighed. This is an indication of the animal's condition. Gosling cuts out the uterine tract and points out the several embryos there. This provides data on pre-natal mortality. Gosling cuts out the animals gut for content examination. Gosling in laboratory with the dissected out eyes and jaw of the coypu. He explains how the age of the animal is determined from these. Gosling next examines the gut contents of the animal to determine its diet. Several micrographs of the gut contents shown. Gosling compares the dissected out embryos with standard test embryos in formaldahyde. This gives an indication of the age of the embryo and data on pre-natal mortality of coypu. Commentary by Peggy Varley over a film sequence which shows a field study of coypu at Calthorpe Broad in progress. She explains how and why coypu are studied here. Gosling with a graph which shows a mortality rate record for coypu. He plots the values for the various ages for both a trapped and an untrapped population. Gosling then presents a histograph which shows coypu population in the Fens since 1930. He plots the values and discusses the reasons for the fluctuations. Peggy Varley sums up over shots of coypu. Shots of a porcupine. |
| Master spool number: | 6HT/71383 |
| Production number: | 00525_1137 |
| Videofinder number: | 1037 |
| Available to public: | no |
