Table of Contents
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Overview
Brief Summary
Description
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Mammal Species of the World
Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account
- Original description: Linnaeus, C., 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classis, ordines, genera, species cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, p. 59. Tenth Edition, Vol. 1. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae, 1:1-823.
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Comprehensive Description
General Description
Sanzenbacher, Beth
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Distribution
Range Description
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Geographic Range
The muskrat is found in swamps, marshes, and wetlands from northern North America to the Gulf coast and the Mexican border. Early in the 20th century, muskrats were introduced to northern Eurasia (Baker, 1983).
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Introduced ); neotropical (Introduced )
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National Distribution
Canada
Origin: Native
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
United States
Origin: Native
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
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Global Range: North America, north to the treeline, including Newfoundland; south to the Gulf Coast, Rio Grande, and lower Colorado River valleys; introduced and now widespread in Old World.
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Physical Description
Morphology
Physical Description
Muskrats have large, robust bodies, with a total body length of twelve and a half inches. The tail is flat and scaly and is nine and a half inches in length. Muskrats have dense fur that traps air underneath for insulation and buoyancy. Their heads are very large and their ears are almost invisible underneath the fur. The whiskers are mediun size. Muskrats have short legs and big feet; the back feet are slightly webbed for swimming. Adult muskrats have glossy upperparts that are dark brown, darker in winter and paler in the summer (Baker, 1983).
Range mass: 680.0 to 1800.0 g.
Average mass: 1135.8 g.
Range length: 410.0 to 620.0 mm.
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Average basal metabolic rate: 4.363 W.
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Size
Size in North America
Range: 410-620 mm
Weight:
Range: 680-1,800 g
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Ecology
Habitat
Habitat and Ecology
Systems
- Terrestrial
- Freshwater
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Habitat
Muskrats are found in wet environments, favoring locations with four to six feet of water. While muskrats are found in ponds, lakes, and swamps, their favorite locations are marshes, where the water level stays constant. Marshes provide the best vegetation for muskrats. They find shelter in bank burrows and their distinctive nests. Bank burrows are tunnels excavated in a bank. The nests of the muskrats are formed by piles of vegetation placed on top of a good base, for example a tree stump, generally in 15 to 40 inches of water (Baker, 1983).
Habitat Regions: temperate
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams
Wetlands: marsh ; swamp ; bog
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Environmental ranges
Depth range (m): 0 - 0
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.
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Comments: Prefers fresh or brackish marshes, lakes, ponds, swamps, and other bodies of slow-moving water. Most abundant in areas with cattail. Rare or absent in large artificial impoundments where fluctuating water levels eliminate littoral zone plants (food supply) (Caire et al. 1989). Dens in bank burrow or conical house of vegetation in shallow vegetated water. Sometimes in uplands-Clough 1987.
See Clark (1994) for information on habitat selection in experimental marshes undergoing succession in Manitoba.
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Migration
Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.
Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).
Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.
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Trophic Strategy
Food Habits
Muskrats are mainly vegetarians but will eat animals as well. Muskrats consume about one-third of their weight every day. Their digestive system is designed for green vegetation. In the summer they eat the roots of aquatic plants. In the winter, they swim under the surface ice to get to the plants. Muskrats also eat agricultural crops (Baker, 1983).
Primary Diet: herbivore
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Comments: Diet mainly consists of aquatic plants, particularly cattails (TYPHUS spp.), cordgrass, and bulrush. Also eats crustaceans and mollusks; may eat large numbers mussels in some areas (Hanson et al. 1989). Builds rooted feeding platforms. Eats mainly upland vegetation in some areas.
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Trophic Strategy
Sanzenbacher, Beth
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Indiana Dunes Bioblitz
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Associations
Ecosystem Roles
Muskrats are very abundant in areas of good habitat, making them important prey animals for predator populations. By grazing on vegetation, muskrats influence the composition of local plant communities.
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Predation
Muskrats are excellent swimmers and can evade many predators by escaping into water or into their burrows and nests. They can remain under water for up to 15 minutes.
Known Predators:
- American minks (Neovison vison)
- raccoons (Procyon lotor)
- Northern river otters (Lontra canadensis)
- coyotes (Canis latrans)
- barn owls (Tyto alba)
- barred owls (Strix varia)
- northern harriers (Circus cyaneus)
- American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)
- cottonmouth water moccasins (Agkistrodon piscivorus)
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Known predators
Bubo virginianus
Agkistrodon piscivorus
Circus cyaneus
Tyto alba
Strix varia
Lontra canadensis
Mustela vison
Procyon lotor
Canis latrans
Alligator mississippiensis
Based on studies in:
USA: California, Cabrillo Point (Grassland)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
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General Ecology
Generally solitary but several may use same general area; in winter several may congregate in single den. Territoriality common (Caire et al. 1989), mostly in breeding season.
Home range sizes relatively small; usually does not forage more than 11 m from home site (Baker 1983). In marginal areas, foraging excursions greater. Seasonal home range may range from less than 0.1 ha to several hectares (see Marinelli and Messier 1993). Home ranges generally less than 100 m in diameter (Takos 1944, Boutin and Birkenholz 1987). However, along linear waterways, home ranges average 411 meters long (Willner et al. 1980).
Populations fluctuate, density up to about 90/ha, usually much less (6/ha, 24/ha, and 36/ha in three studies cited by Marinelli and Messier 1993).
In Manitoba, spatial and temporal variation in vegetation response to flooding contributed to variation in the density dependence of both survival and recruitment; reductions in emergent vegetation caused by flooding resulted in decreased winter survival (Clark and Kroeker 1993).
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Ecology
Sanzenbacher, Beth
Source:
Indiana Dunes Bioblitz
Unreviewed
Life History and Behavior
Behavior
Communication and Perception
Muskrats communicate by a secretion from their glands called musk. This scent also serves to warn intruders. They are capable of vocalizing by squeaks and squeals. Muskrats have poorly developed senses of sight, hearing, and smell.
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Cyclicity
Comments: Mainly nocturnal but frequently seen in daylight. Active year-round. Two peaks of activity: between 1600 and 1700 h and 2200-2300 hours (Stewart and Boder 1977).
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Life Expectancy
Lifespan/Longevity
Although muskrats have been known to live to 10 years old in captivity, they probably live about 3 years in the wild.
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 10.0 (high) years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 3.0 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 4.0 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 3.0 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 10.0 years.
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Lifespan, longevity, and ageing
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Reproduction
Reproduction
Southern muskrat populations can breed year round while northern populations only breed in the warmer months (March to August). The gestation period is 29 - 30 days and the litter size averages around 6, with northern populations having larger litters. Young are born in a grass lined nest. When born, the muskrat has short dark fur, closed eyes, and weighs around 22 grams. They are able to swim at 10 days and by 21 days can eat green vegetation. In 30 days muskrats gain their independence and will reach adult size in 200 days (Baker, 1983).
Breeding season: Varies with latitude.
Range gestation period: 30.0 (high) days.
Range weaning age: 3.0 to 4.0 weeks.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 7.0 to 12.0 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 7.0 to 12.0 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); viviparous
Average birth mass: 22.72 g.
Average number of offspring: 6.7.
Young are cared for and nursed by their mothers in the nest until they are about 2 weeks old, when they begin to swim and eat vegetation. They are fully weaned by 3 to 4 weeks old and leave their mother's home range after their first winter, usually when they are less than a year old.
Parental Investment: altricial ; female parental care
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Gestation lasts 28-30 days. Average of 2-3 litters/year. Litter size is 1-12 (usually averages about 5-6). Weaned and fairly independent after about 1 month. Sexually mature in 4-6 months. In Saskatchewan, polygyny was common (Marinelli and Messier 1993). Typically high rate of mortality in young.
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Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Statistics of barcoding coverage: Ondatra zibethicus
Public Records: 0
Species: 2
Species With Barcodes: 1
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Conservation
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List Assessment
Red List Category
Red List Criteria
Version
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Justification
History
- 1996Lower Risk/least concern
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Conservation Status
Muskrats are widespread and abundant. Populations remain stable even when they are being hunted for fur, affected by disease, or a target for large predator populations because muskrats have the ability to reproduce quickly.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
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National NatureServe Conservation Status
Canada
Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure
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NatureServe Conservation Status
Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure
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Conservation Status
Sanzenbacher, Beth
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Indiana Dunes Bioblitz
Unreviewed
Trends
Population
Population Trend
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Threats
Threats
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Management
Conservation Actions
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Relevance to Humans and Ecosystems
Benefits
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Muskrats not only eat the grain on a farm but they have also been known to plug the drain tiles on farms as well. Muskrats also have a habit of building their homes around dikes. These homes make the dikes weak and eventually destroy the structure (Baker, 1983).
Negative Impacts: crop pest
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Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
The fur of a muskrat is important in the fur industry. Also, the meat from a muskrat is suitable for human consumption (Baker, 1983).
Positive Impacts: body parts are source of valuable material
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Risks
Species Impact: Predation by muskrat appears to be inhibiting the recovery of endangered mussel species, and probably is placing some demes of endangered pigtoe mussel species in further jeopardy of extirpation from sites in upper Tennessee River drainage (Neves and Odom 1989).
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Wikipedia
Muskrat
The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), the only species in genus Ondatra, is a medium-sized semi-aquatic rodent native to North America, and introduced in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitats. It has important effects on the ecology of wetlands[2] and is a resource of food and fur for humans. It is an introduced species in some of its present range.
The muskrat is the largest species in the subfamily Arvicolinae, which includes 142 other species of rodents, mostly voles and lemmings. Muskrats are referred to as "rats" in a general sense because they are medium-sized rodents with an adaptable lifestyle and an omnivorous diet. They are not, however, so-called "true rats", that is, members of the genus Rattus.
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Etymology
The muskrat's name probably comes by folk etymology from a word of Algonquin origin, muscascus, (literally "it is red," so called for its colorings) or from the Abenaki native word mòskwas as seen in the archaic English name for the animal, musquash. Due to the association with the "musky" odor which the muskrat uses to mark its territory and its rat-like appearance the name became altered to muskrat.[3][4][5]
Description
An adult muskrat is about 40 to 60 cm (16 to 24 inches) long, almost half of that tail, and weighs from 0.7 to 1.8 kg (1.5 to 4 lb). That is about four times the weight of the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), though an adult muskrat is only slightly longer. Muskrats are much smaller than beavers (Castor canadensis), with whom they often share their habitat.[3][4]
Muskrats are covered with short, thick fur which is medium to dark brown or black in color with the belly a bit lighter but as the age increases it turns a partly gray in color. The fur has two layers, which helps protect them from the cold water. They have long tails which are covered with scales rather than hair and to aid them in swimming are slightly flattened vertically;[6] which is a shape that is unique only to muskrats.[7] When they walk on land the tail drags on the ground, which makes their tracks easy to recognize.[3][4]
Muskrats spend much of their time in the water and are well suited for their semi-aquatic life, both in and out of water. Muskrats can swim under water for 12 to 17 minutes. Their bodies, like those of seals and whales, are less sensitive to the buildup of carbon dioxide than those of most other mammals. They can close off their ears to keep the water out. Their hind feet are semi-webbed, although in swimming the tail is their main means of propulsion.[8]
Distribution and ecology
Muskrats are found over most of Canada and the United States and a small part of northern Mexico. They were introduced to Europe in the beginning of the 20th century. Muskrats mostly inhabit wetlands, areas in or near salt and fresh-water wetlands, rivers, lakes, or ponds. They are not found in the state of Florida where the round-tailed muskrat, or Florida water rat, (Neofiber alleni) fills their niche.[3]
Their populations naturally cycle; in areas where they become abundant, they are capable of removing much of the vegetation in wetlands[9]. They are thought to play a major role in determining the vegetation of prairie wetlands in particular[10]. They also selectively remove preferred plant species, thereby changing the abundance of plant species in many kinds of wetlands[11]. Species commonly eaten include cattail and yellow water lily. It is thought that alligators are an important natural predator, and the absence of muskrats from Florida, noted above, may in part be the result of alligator predation[12].
While much wetland habitat has been eliminated due to human activity, new muskrat habitat has been created by the construction of canals or irrigation channels and the muskrat remains common and widespread. They are able to live alongside streams which contain the sulfurous water that drains away from coal mines. Fish and frogs perish in such streams, yet muskrats may thrive and occupy the wetlands. Muskrats also benefit from human persecution of some of their predators.[4]
The muskrat is classed as a "prohibited new organism" under New Zealand's Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 preventing it from being imported into the country.[13]
Behavior
Muskrats normally live in groups consisting of a male and female pair and their young. During the spring they often fight with other muskrats over territory and potential mates. Many are injured or killed in these fights. Muskrat families build nests to protect themselves and the young from cold and predators. In streams, ponds or lakes, muskrats burrow into the bank with an underwater entrance. These entrances are 6 to 8 inches wide. In marshes, lodges are constructed from vegetation and mud. These lodges are up to three feet in height. In snowy areas they keep the openings to their lodges closed by plugging them with vegetation which they replace every day. Some muskrat lodges are swept away in spring floods and have to be replaced each year. Muskrats also build feeding platforms in wetlands. Muskrats help maintain open areas in marshes, which helps to provide habitat for aquatic birds.[4][14]
Contrary to belief, the thickness of muskrat lodges does not indicate the severity of the coming winter.
Muskrats are most active at night or near dawn and dusk. They feed on cattails and other aquatic vegetation. They do not store food for the winter, but sometimes eat the insides of their lodges. While Muskrats may appear to steal food that beavers have stored, more seemingly cooperative partnerships with beavers exist, as featured in the BBC David Attenborough wildlife documentary The Life of Mammals.[15][16] Plant materials make up about 95 percent of their diets, but they also eat small animals such as freshwater mussels, frogs, crayfish, fish, and small turtles.[3][4] Muskrats follow trails that they make in swamps and ponds. When the water freezes, muskrats continue to follow their trails under the ice. This is how trappers catch muskrats in the winter.[citation needed]
Muskrats provide an important food resource for many other animals including mink, foxes, coyotes, wolves, lynx, bears, eagles, snakes, alligators, and large owls and hawks. Otters, snapping turtles, and large fish such as pike prey on baby muskrats. Caribou and elk sometimes feed on the vegetation which makes up muskrat lodges during the winter when other food is scarce for them [1]. In their introduced range in the former Soviet Union, the muskrat's greatest predator is the golden jackal. Muskrats can be completely extirpated in shallow water bodies, and during the winter of 1948-49 in the Amu Darya, muskrats constituted 12.3% of jackal faeces contents, and 71% of muskrat houses were destroyed by jackals, 16% of which froze and became unsuitable for muskrat occupation. Jackals also harm the muskrat industry by eating muskrats caught in traps or taking skins left out to dry.[17]
Muskrats, like most rodents, are prolific breeders. Females can have 2 to 3 litters a year of 6 to 8 young each. The babies are born small and hairless and weigh only about 22 grams (0.8 oz). In southern environments young muskrats mature in 6 months, while in colder northern environments it takes about a year. Muskrat populations appear to go through a regular pattern of rise and dramatic decline spread over a 6 to 10 year period. Some other rodents, including famously the muskrat's close relatives the lemmings, go through the same type of population changes (MC2007).
History and use by humans
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Native Americans have long considered the muskrat to be a very important animal. Some predict winter snowfall levels by observing the size and timing of muskrat lodge construction.[18] In several Native American creation myths it is the muskrat who dives to the bottom of the primordial sea to bring up the mud from which the earth is created, after other animals had failed in the task.[19]
Muskrats have sometimes been a food resource for humans. Muskrat meat is tender and tastes gamey like rabbit or duck.[citation needed] In the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, there is a longstanding dispensation allowing Catholics to consume muskrat on Ash Wednesday, and the Fridays of Lent (when the eating of meat, except for fish, is prohibited). Because the muskrat lives in water, it is considered equivalent to fish.[20]
Lenten dinners of muskrat are therefore traditional in parts of Michigan. The meat is occasionally consumed in Belgium and The Netherlands, and is traditional dish on the Delmarva Peninsula and in certain other areas and population segments of the United States.
Muskrat fur is warm, and the trapping of muskrats for their fur became an important industry in the early twentieth century. At that time muskrats were introduced to Europe as a fur resource. Muskrat fur becomes prime at the beginning of December in most northern states. Muskrat fur was specially trimmed and dyed and called "hudson seal" fur, and sold widely in the United States in the early twentieth century.[21] They spread throughout northern Europe and Asia.
Some European countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands consider the muskrat to be a pest that must be exterminated. Therefore the animal is trapped and hunted to keep the population down. The muskrat is considered a pest because its burrowing causes damage to the dikes and levees that these low-lying countries depend on for protection from flooding. Muskrats also sometimes eat corn and other farm and garden crops.[4]
References
- ^ Linzey, A.V. (2008). Ondatra zibethicus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 10 Jule 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
- ^ Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p.
- ^ a b c d e Caras, R. 1967. North American Mammals. New York: Galahad Books. ISBN 0-88365-072-X
- ^ a b c d e f g Nowak, R. & Paradiso, J. 1983. Walker's Mammals of the World. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-2525-3
- ^ "Muskrat". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. October 2, 2011. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/muskrat. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
- ^ http://m.extension.illinois.edu/wildlife/directory_show.cfm?species=muskrat
- ^ http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/muskrat.html
- ^ Voelker, W. 1986. The Natural History of Living Mammals. Medford, New Jersey: Plexus Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0-937548-08-1
- ^ O’Neil, T. (1949). The Muskrat in the Louisiana Coastal Marshes. New Orleans, LA: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
- ^ van der Valk, A. G. (1989). Northern Prairie Wetlands. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press.
- ^ Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p.
- ^ Keddy, P. A., Gough, L., Nyman, J. A., McFalls, T., Carter, J., and Siegnist, J. (2009a). Alligator hunters, pelt traders, and runaway consumption of Gulf coast marshes: a trophic cascade perspective on coastal wetland losses. In Human Impacts on Salt Marshes: A Global Perspective, eds. B. R. Silliman, E. D. Grosholz, and M. D. Bertness, pp. 115–133. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
- ^ "Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 2003 - Schedule 2 Prohibited new organisms". New Zealand Government. http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1996/0030/latest/DLM386556.html#DLM386556. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ Attenborough, D. 2002. The Life of Mammals. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11324-6
- ^ Attenborough, David. 2002. The Life of Mammals, Episode 4. BBC Video.
- ^ The Life of Mammals#4. "Chisellers"
- ^ Mammals of the Soviet Union Vol.II Part 1a, Sirenia AND Carnivora (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears), V.G Heptner and N.P Naumov editors, Science Publishers, Inc. USA. 1998. ISBN 1-886106-81-9
- ^ Smith, Murray (1982-05). "Science for the Native Orientated Classroom". Journal of American Indian Education 21 (1). http://jaie.asu.edu/v21/V21S3sci.html. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
- ^ Musgrave, P. 2007. "How the Muskrat Created the World" Muskrat.com Accessed November 11, 2007.
- ^ Lukowski, K. 2007. "Muskrat love? It's a Lent thing for downriver area" The Official Web Site for the Archdiocese of Detroit. Accessed November 11, 2007.
- ^ Ciardi, J. 1983. On Words. Weekly broadcast on NPR.
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