Muskrat disturbances and their analogues reduce invasive plant dominance within a Great Lakes coastal wetland

For some Ojibwe communities of the Great Lakes region, wazhashk (muskrat in Anishinaabemowin; Ondatra zibethicus [Linnaeus, 1766]) plays a prominent role in stories and has important responsibilities, including modifying the environment and providing habitat for other organisms. Muskrats create disturbances in cattail marshes, contributing to heterogeneity and species diversity, though the effects on invasive cattails and associated invasive plants varies or has not been documented. We evaluated the ecological effects of muskrat disturbances and muskrat-disturbance-analogue (MDA) management treatments (vegetation treatments modeled on muskrat disturbance) on plant communities and 2 common invasive plants, hybrid cattail (Typha × glauca Godr.; hereafter Typha) and European frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae L.; hereafter Hydrocharis), in a large northern Great Lakes coastal marsh. Muskrats effectively reduced invasive plant species cover of both species, reducing Typha by 71% and Hydrocha..., , , # Data from: Muskrat disturbances and their analogues reduce invasive plant dominance within a Great Lakes coastal wetland

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.wstqjq2xw](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.wstqjq2xw)

## Description of the data and file structure

We evaluated the ecological effects of muskrat disturbances and muskrat-disturbance-analogue (MDA) management treatments (vegetation treatments modeled on muskrat disturbance) on plant communities and 2 common invasive plants, hybrid cattail (*Typha* × *glauca* Godr.; hereafter *Typha*) and European frogbit (*Hydrocharis morsus-ranae* L.; hereafter *Hydrocharis*), in a large northern Great Lakes coastal marsh.

### Files and variables

#### File: Lishawa\_et\_al\_Data\_compiled.csv

**Description:** 

##### Variables

* ID: ID
* Date: Date collected
* Site: Site
* plot: Plot
* subplot: Subplot
* trmt_2: Treatment
* Tot_veg_pct: Total vegetation cover (%)
* typha: Typha spp. cover (%)
* hydmor: Hydrocharis morsus-ranae cover (%)
* typ_do...,