What is it about?
This article compiles results of reports on any health-related components of muskrat, including infection, contamination and mortality. Cyanobacteria (from algae blooms) and bacterial infections were the main cause of mortality in muskrats in North America. The objective of the study was to identify existing knowledge of muskrat health and to identify gaps in surveillance that limit our understanding of muskrat health as a whole.
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Why is it important?
Muskrat populations are in severe decline across much of their native range in North America with many theories as to why abundance is dropping. This article gives insight into how disease, contamination and infection may be impacting muskrat survival and identifies missing information that may aid in better understanding factors affecting the persistence of this species.
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This page is a summary of: Surveillance for diseases, pathogens, and toxicants of muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) in Pennsylvania and surrounding regions, PLoS ONE, December 2021, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260987.
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