Muskrats are helping to restore degraded wetlands across the Great Lakes in the US.
These large, semi-aquatic rodents have big teeth. They enjoy eating and making their homes from invasive cattails.
“The cattail comes in [and] outcompetes the very diverse community of native plants,” Shane Lishawa said. Lishawa is a researcher at Loyola University Chicago.
“And that prevents not only plants, but the aquatic organisms ... birds and amphibians from accessing and utilising these wetlands.”
Muskrats can cut down tall cattails. They create small openings where plants of different heights can grow. That creates homes for native wildlife.
Scientists are copying the muskrat’s cutting method to help restore wetlands. These wetlands once covered more than 1 million acres in the Great Lakes area. But now, only about half of that remains.
