Muskrat Island: Behavioral Shifts of an Insular Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) Population in the Gulf of Maine
ABSTRACT The aftermath of the North American fur trade resulted in the depletion of many furbearing mammal populations in their native North American range while simultaneously creating invasive populations of these species through translocations worldwide. Here, we document the ongoing results of t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71502 |
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| author | Alexis M. Mychajliw Max Zeltsar John Dennis Maddie E. Ellms Dylan Titmuss Kristen M. Covino Sara Williams Shrushti Modi Courtney A. Hofman |
| author_facet | Alexis M. Mychajliw Max Zeltsar John Dennis Maddie E. Ellms Dylan Titmuss Kristen M. Covino Sara Williams Shrushti Modi Courtney A. Hofman |
| author_sort | Alexis M. Mychajliw |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT The aftermath of the North American fur trade resulted in the depletion of many furbearing mammal populations in their native North American range while simultaneously creating invasive populations of these species through translocations worldwide. Here, we document the ongoing results of this mass ecological experiment by describing the natural history of a remnant fur colony of muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) putatively introduced to the Isles of Shoals archipelago in the Gulf of Maine in the early 20th century. Through a combination of intensive surveys and camera trapping, we document how muskrats have been influenced by insular conditions under expectations of island biogeographic theory. Unlike other translocated muskrats that have produced successful wetland‐restricted populations in continental Europe and Asia, the Shoals muskrats appear to have shifted their habitat use and lodge building behavior and have encountered a new predator: gulls (Laridae). This Nature Note formalizes decades of anecdotal observations and provides important insight into the ecological flexibility of muskrats given the paradox of a species that is apparently now declining in its native range but expanding outside of it. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e0a4b3a7f9a2406da2b350de1d7ec3e3 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-e0a4b3a7f9a2406da2b350de1d7ec3e32025-08-20T02:43:38ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-06-01156n/an/a10.1002/ece3.71502Muskrat Island: Behavioral Shifts of an Insular Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) Population in the Gulf of MaineAlexis M. Mychajliw0Max Zeltsar1John Dennis2Maddie E. Ellms3Dylan Titmuss4Kristen M. Covino5Sara Williams6Shrushti Modi7Courtney A. Hofman8Department of Biology Middlebury College Middlebury Vermont USADepartment of Biology Middlebury College Middlebury Vermont USAMi'kmaq NationShoals Marine Laboratory Kittery Maine USAShoals Marine Laboratory Kittery Maine USAShoals Marine Laboratory Kittery Maine USALaboratories of Molecular Anthropology & Microbiome Research University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma USALaboratories of Molecular Anthropology & Microbiome Research University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma USALaboratories of Molecular Anthropology & Microbiome Research University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma USAABSTRACT The aftermath of the North American fur trade resulted in the depletion of many furbearing mammal populations in their native North American range while simultaneously creating invasive populations of these species through translocations worldwide. Here, we document the ongoing results of this mass ecological experiment by describing the natural history of a remnant fur colony of muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) putatively introduced to the Isles of Shoals archipelago in the Gulf of Maine in the early 20th century. Through a combination of intensive surveys and camera trapping, we document how muskrats have been influenced by insular conditions under expectations of island biogeographic theory. Unlike other translocated muskrats that have produced successful wetland‐restricted populations in continental Europe and Asia, the Shoals muskrats appear to have shifted their habitat use and lodge building behavior and have encountered a new predator: gulls (Laridae). This Nature Note formalizes decades of anecdotal observations and provides important insight into the ecological flexibility of muskrats given the paradox of a species that is apparently now declining in its native range but expanding outside of it.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71502camera trapfurbearerintroducedislandMainemammal |
| spellingShingle | Alexis M. Mychajliw Max Zeltsar John Dennis Maddie E. Ellms Dylan Titmuss Kristen M. Covino Sara Williams Shrushti Modi Courtney A. Hofman Muskrat Island: Behavioral Shifts of an Insular Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) Population in the Gulf of Maine Ecology and Evolution camera trap furbearer introduced island Maine mammal |
| title | Muskrat Island: Behavioral Shifts of an Insular Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) Population in the Gulf of Maine |
| title_full | Muskrat Island: Behavioral Shifts of an Insular Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) Population in the Gulf of Maine |
| title_fullStr | Muskrat Island: Behavioral Shifts of an Insular Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) Population in the Gulf of Maine |
| title_full_unstemmed | Muskrat Island: Behavioral Shifts of an Insular Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) Population in the Gulf of Maine |
| title_short | Muskrat Island: Behavioral Shifts of an Insular Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) Population in the Gulf of Maine |
| title_sort | muskrat island behavioral shifts of an insular muskrat ondatra zibethicus population in the gulf of maine |
| topic | camera trap furbearer introduced island Maine mammal |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71502 |
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