Muskrats Are Tolerant Of Multiple Forms Of Human Disturbance
Among the many studies that have investigated the effects of urbanization on wildlife, few, if any, have focused on a species primarily valued as an economic commodity. This knowledge gap was recently addressed by researchers from the University of Illinois who studied the effects of anthropogenic landscape alterations on muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus). These animals, native to North America and invasive in Europe, Asia, and South America, are a valuable source of fur (at one recent auction, their pelts sold for approximately $6 apiece); in some areas, they are even eaten. Muskrats are particularly interesting in an anthropogenic disturbance context because, as semiaquatic animals, they are exposed to human habitat modifications while both on land and in the water. read more
