Muskrat house count data from 30 Lake Ontario coastal wetlands, obtained by ground surveys and aerial imagery

We collected aerial imagery from coastal wetlands along the north shore of Lake Ontario during the winter of 2014 in both 2D orthorectified and 3D stereoscopic formats for the purpose of identifying and counting muskrat houses. We compared muskrat house counts obtained from imagery to counts recorded by ground survey crews in the same wetlands during the same winter to investigate the accuracy of aerial imagery as an alternative muskrat survey method. Muskrat house count data is organized by wetland and by randomly selected 1-ha cells within each wetland. Counts obtained by ground surveys, 2D aerial orthoimagery examination by two independent observers (ortho obs 1 and 2), and 3D stereoscopic (stereo) imagery examination are recorded for each cell. This data supports Greenhorn, J.E., C.S. Sadowski, J.A. Rodgers, and J. Bowman. 2024. The use of orthoimagery and stereoscopic aerial imagery to identify muskrat (<i>Ondatra zibethicus</i>) houses. Wildlife Society Bulletin.