Lab Note 2: Muskrat MTV Cribs

As mentioned in the previous lab note, muskrats will create structures to live/overwinter in depending on the habitat they are in. These are largely lodges and burrows in the banks or rivers and streams. An example of a lodge can be seen below dd (Sadowski and Bowman, 2021).

 

Muskrat house found during a survey of the Matchedash Bay - Gray Marsh in May 2018 (Sadowski and Bowman, 2021).

 

Great figure of the general make up of a muskrat lodge and the typical sizes and placements of the different parts that make up a lodge (Ouellet and Morin, 2005).

Lodges are made from mud and vegetative debris collected from the immediate surrounding area. Lodges vary in size and can be up to a meter or more in both height and width (Ouellet and morin, 2006) and may have one to several entrances/exists that exist below the water line. They don't like to construct lodges in water that is too shallow (not allowing for water to adequately cover lodge entrances) or too deep. Bank burrows are less complex and consist of burrows on the banks of streams or rivers, with entrances that are also under the water’s surface.