Editing Muskrat (section)

== Distribution and ecology ==
[[File:Muskrat eating plant.jpg|thumb|A muskrat eating a plant, showing the long claws used for digging burrows]]

Muskrats are found in most of Canada, the United States, and a small part of northern Mexico. They were introduced to Europe at the beginning of the 20th century and have become an [[invasive species]] in northwestern Europe. They primarily inhabit wetlands, areas in or near saline and freshwater wetlands, rivers, lakes, or ponds. They are not found in Florida, where the [[round-tailed muskrat]], or Florida water rat (''Neofiber alleni''), fills their [[ecological niche]].<ref name="caras" />

Their populations naturally cycle; in areas where they become abundant, they can remove much of the vegetation in wetlands.<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Neil |first=Ted |year=1949 |title=The Muskrat in the Louisiana Coastal Marshes: A Study of the Ecological, Geological, Biological, Tidal, and Climatic Factors Governing the Production and Management of the Muskrat Industry in Louisiana |place=New Orleans, Louisiana |publisher=Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries|lccn=50063347}}{{page needed|date=September 2021}}</ref> They are thought to play a major role in determining the vegetation of prairie wetlands in particular.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=van der Valk |editor-first=Arnold G. |year=1989 |title=Northern Prairie Wetlands |place=Ames, Iowa |publisher=Iowa State University Press|isbn=0-8138-0037-4|lccn=88009266}}{{page needed|date=September 2021}}</ref> They also selectively remove preferred plant species, thereby changing the abundance of plant species in many kinds of wetlands.<ref name="Keddy" /> Species commonly eaten include [[Typha|cattail]] and [[Nuphar polysepala|yellow water lily]]. Alligators are thought to be an important natural predator, and the absence of muskrats from Florida may, in part, be the result of alligator predation.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Keddy|first1=Paul A.|last2=Gough|first2=Laura |last3=Nyman|first3=J. Andy |last4=McFalls|first4=Tiffany |last5=Carter|first5=Jacoby |last6=Siegrist|first6=Jack |year=2009 |chapter=Alligator Hunters, Pelt Traders, and Runaway Consumption of Gulf Coast Marshes: A Trophic Cascade Perspective on Coastal Wetland Losses |title=Human Impacts on Salt Marshes: A Global Perspective |editor-last1=Silliman|editor-first1=Brian R.|editor-last2=Grosholz|editor-first2=Edwin D.|editor-last3=Bertness|editor-first3=Mark D.|editor-link3=Mark Bertness|pages=115–133 |place=Berkeley, California |publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-25892-1|lccn=2008048366}}</ref>

While much wetland habitat has been eliminated due to human activity, new muskrat habitat has been created by the construction of [[canal]]s or [[irrigation]] channels (e.g., [[acequia]]s), and the muskrat remains widespread. They can live alongside streams that contain the [[sulfur]]ous 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.<ref name="nowak" />

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1996/0030/latest/DLM386556.html#DLM386556|title=Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 2003 – Schedule 2 Prohibited new organisms|publisher=New Zealand Legislation|access-date=26 January 2012}}</ref>

The [[Trematoda|trematode]] ''[[Metorchis conjunctus]]'' can also infect muskrats.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Chai|first1=Jong-Yil |last2=Murrell |first2=K. Darwin |last3=Lymbery|first3=Alan J.|date=October 2005|title=Fish-borne parasitic zoonoses: Status and issues|journal=[[International Journal for Parasitology]]|volume=35|issue=11–12|pages=1233–1254|doi=10.1016/j.ijpara.2005.07.013|pmid=16143336 |s2cid=39281434}}</ref>

===Decline in the United States===
According to an April 2024 article in ''[[Hakai Magazine]]'', the muskrat populations have declined by at least one-half in 34 US states. The collapse was near-total, between 90 and 99 percent in a handful of states. Rhode Island's muskrat populations are estimated to be roughly 15 percent of what they were several decades ago.
The decline in muskrat populations began in the 1990s and early 2000s.<ref>{{cite news |last=Keim |first=Brandon |url=https://hakaimagazine.com/features/the-magnificent-lives-and-quiet-loss-of-muskrats |title=The Waning Reign of the Wetland Architect We Barely Know (Hint: Not a Beaver) |work= [[Hakai Magazine]] |publisher=Tula Foundation and Hakai Institute family. |date=2024-04-23 |accessdate=2024-04-24 }}</ref>