DOI: 10.5061/dryad.wstqjq2xw
title: Data from: Muskrat disturbances and their analogues reduce invasive plant dominance within a Great Lakes coastal wetland

description: 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 Hydrocharis by 88% compared with unmanipulated controls.
 MDA treatments reflected the pattern of muskrat disturbance by reducing
 invasive Typha but did not reduce Hydrocharis cover. Neither muskrat
 disturbances nor MDA treatments resulted in consistent effects on plant
 diversity or floristic quality metrics, however MDA-harvest treatments
 increased floristic quality metrics compared with invaded controls. Thus,
 muskrats and MDA treatments were all effective at producing desirable
 ecological outcomes, though the responses varied. Muskrats are important
 disturbance agents that promote heterogeneity in Typha- and
 Hydrocharis-invaded Great Lakes coastal wetlands, and management efforts
 to increase their populations should be considered.
description: # 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_dom: Typha dominance (Typha cover / total cover) * efb_dom: Hydrocharis morsus-ranae dominance (Hydmor cover / total cover) * water: water depth (cm) #### File: Lishawa\_et\_al\_experiment.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * ID: ID * Date: Date collected * Site: Site * plot: Plot * trmt_2: Treatment * subplot: subplot * Organic.depth_cm: Organic sediment depth (cm) * DO_mg_L: Dissolved oxygen (mg/L) * pH: pH * ORP_mV: Oxydation-reduction potential (mV) * temp.C: Temperature (degrees C) * Unveg_pct: Unvegetated cover (%) * Tot_veg_pct: Vegetation cover (%) * AW_litter_pct: Above-water litter cover (%) * BW_litter_pct: Below-water litter cover (%) * Water_depth_cm: Water depth (cm) * richness: Species richness (# plant species) * H: Shannon's diversity index score * typhaBM: Typha biomass (g) * typha: Typha cover (%) * hydmor: Hydrocharis morsus-ranae cover (%) * algae: algae cover (%) * calcan: Calamagrostis canadensis cover (%) * cerdem: Ceradophyllum demersum cover (%) * cxlacu: Carex lacustris cover (%) * cxutri: Carex utriculata cover (%) * elocan: Eleodea canadensis cover (%) * equflu: Equisetum fluviatile cover (%) * galspp.: Galium spp. cover (%) * galtri: Galium trifidum cover (%) * lemmin: Lemna minor cover (%) * lemtri: Lemna trisulca cover (%) * lysthy: Lysimachia thyrsiflora cover (%) * myrsib: Myriophyllum sibiricum cover (%) * nymodo: Nymphaea odorata cover (%) * peramp: Persicaria amphibia cover (%) * salspp.: Salix spp. cover (%) * potobt: Potamogeton obtusifolius cover (%) * potzos: Potamogeton zostriformis cover (%) * ricnat: Riccia natans cover (%) * ricciocarpus: Ricciocarpus spp. cover (%) * ricflu: Riccia fluitans cover (%) * schacu: Schoenoplectus acutus cover (%) * spipol: Spirodela polyrhiza cover (%) * typang: Typha angustifolia cover (%) * typgla: Typha x glauca cover (%) * utrmin: Utricularia minor cover (%) * utrvul: Utricularia vulgaris cover (%) * zizpal: Zizania palustris cover (%) * Unknown: Unknown spp. cover (%) * invsimp: Inverse Simpson's Diversity index * evenness: Species Evenness  * submergent: Submergent Species cover (%) * floating: Floating Species cover (%) * emergent: Emergent Species cover (%) * typhaDens: Typha stem density (#) * fqi: Floristic Quality Index  * C_mean: Mean Coefficient of conservatism score * fqi_ad: Floristic Quality Index Ad score ###### Note All NAs in the data set represent data that are not available.