Influence of Introduced Mink on Newfoundland Muskrat
File(s)
Date
1995-05Author
Soper, Leah R.
Publisher
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, College of Natural Resources
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The influence of introduced mink (Mustela vison) on an
island race of muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus obscurus) was studied
in insular Newfoundland using harvest statistics, field surveys,
and stomach analysis. Fur harvest records show an increase in
the mink harvest from 932 in 1958-59 to 2,770 in 1991-92 and a
decrease in the muskrat harvest from 11,146 in 1958-59 to 897 in
1991-92. Presence of the introduced mink on a race of muskrat
unadapted to mink, combined with marginal habitat conditions,
have limited muskrat population growth in Newfoundland. Best
muskrat populations were associated with dense stands of water
horsetail (Eguisetum fluviatile), which was used to build houses
which seemed to protect muskrats from mink.