Muskrats great for lakes’ ecosystems, study says

With their surgical nibbles, muskrats — large, semi-aquatic, buck-toothed rodents — have emerged as crucial helpers for ecologists restoring degraded wetlands across the Great Lakes.

They are not as well known as dam-building beavers but often can be found in the same marshy ecosystems. Muskrats — which are more closely related to voles and hamsters — love to eat and build their lodges out of invasive cattails.

“One of the first things that happens is the cattail comes in, outcompetes the very diverse community of native plants,” said Shane Lishawa, a researcher at Loyola University Chicago. “And that prevents not only plants but the aquatic organisms — fish, invertebrates — and then also birds and amphibians from accessing and utilizing these wetlands that are super critical for biodive