elsewhere along the reed-big cordgrass type of the transect. Table V 
shows that big cordgrass coverage increased to a greater extent from 
1955 to 1956 within the exclosure than on the transect. Inches of 
nonvegetated ground did not differ appreciably inside and outside; 
the decrease from 1955 to 1956 was caused largely by increased cover- 
age of saltmeadow cordgrass along the transect and by increased 
coverage of big cordgrass in the exclosure. Also, the portion of 
the big cordgrass colony lying outside the exclosure had become 
noticeably thinner by 1956. 
Exclosure 4, in the reed type of Transect C, showed no effect on 
the vegetation due to protection (table VI). Inches of dominant reed 
decreased slightly inside the exclosure from 1955 to 1956 while it 
increased outside. Inches of nonvegetated ground decreased to a 
greater extent inside than outside the exclosure. 
Nutria Abundance 
Sects of nutria droppings, diggings, and trails on the transects, 
when broken down by vegetative types and seasons, did not provide a 
reliable, quantitative index to nutria abundance which could be 
correlated with vegetative change, because the data were too few. 
Table VII records the counts of food diggings along each transect. 
A general trend toward a decreased number of diggings per 100 feet 
of transect is noted for 1956, especially on Transects A and C where 
nutria were most numerous. The number of inches of the sample tran- 
sects showing nutria activity, recorded in table VIII, also shows a 
slight downward trend. 
15 
