of big cordgrass within the exclosures suggests that the activity 
of nutria caused more rapid deterioration than did the effects of 
physical factors of the habitat. 
Big cordgrass is chiefly of value as cover to other marsh 
animals, but is a secondary food for muskrats and geese (Lynch 
et al, 1957). 
Reed was utilized by nutria to a considerable extent for food 
and shelter. Although the reed stand on Transect C decreased in 
density in 1955, it recovered in 1956. There was no indication 
that nutria harmed the stand and reed protected from nutria by 
exclosure 4 showed no increased coverage. Colonies of reed on 
Transect A were already dead when the transect was established 
during the fall of 1954. The remaining stubble seemed firmly 
attached to the roots and showed stem breakage, indicating that 
most of the plants were not killed by the digging of nutria. One 
of us (F.W.) observed large stands of reed and cattail to the west 
of the transect in 1952, but by 1954, stands of reed were reported 
by a trapper as dead and dying in that area. The trapper did not 
believe that nutria were responsible for the loss. 
It is possitle that repeated clipping by nutria of new shoots 
might prevent reproduction of a stand and eventually kill it, but 
this is difficult to believe because of the vigorous vegetative 
reproduction of large stands growing under optimum conditions. 
To provide evidence, all reed shoots in two 6-foot square quadrats 
were clipped for 1.5 years. At the end of a spring and summer's 
24 
