Muskrats as a bellwether of a drying delta.

ABSTRACT: Wetlands worldwide are under threat from anthropogenic impacts. In large protected North American areas such as Yellowstone and Wood Buffalo National Parks, aquatic habitats are disappearing and wetland-dependent fauna are in decline^1-3. Here we investigate population dynamics of an indicator species in Canada's Peace-Athabasca Delta ("the delta"), a World Heritage Site. Based on population surveys, habitat mapping and genetic data from 288 muskrats, we use agent-based modeling and genetic analyses to explain population expansion and decline of the semi-aquatic muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus). Simulations quantify a large population (~500,000 individuals) following flood-induced habitat gains, with decreased size (~10,000 individuals) during drying. Genetic analyses show extremely

SUBMITTER: Ward EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8225612 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature