ABSTRACT The Ondatra zibethicus, otherwise known as a muskrat, is a semiaquatic rodent that is native to North America but has invaded Europe, Asia, and South America. Muskrats were first introduced within the Isles of Shoals located around the Gulf of Maine for the purposes of fur harvest in the early 1900s (Harrison, 2014). The Appledore Island muskrats, one of the Isles of Shoals, and other muskrats were compared for mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences and allele frequencies at eight different loci sights. The Appledore island muskrats exhibited reduced genetic diversity compared to the mainland populations (Maine and New Hampshire) they also displayed the historic bottleneck. This was one of the first genetic study of muskrat populations within the United States border or any of the other island muskrat populations. The data provides important information that contrasts with other studies of muskrat populations worldwide.
METHODS
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Less than one centimeter of a muskrat’s tail is clipped off. Tail samples were collected from Appledore Island, Isles of Shoals, Maine, and New Hampshire. Samples were collected from June 2011 to July 2011. Muskrat’s were caught by using a Havahart live trap, which keeps the animal perfectly safe and often food is used to lure the animal into the trap. Muskrats houses, burrows, and latrines were surveyed, observed, and documented to ensure the muskrats are in the right area that is in the study and to ensure to avoid parent-offspring within that territory. A total of forty-three samples were collected and was stored in absolute ethanol. Tissue samples, that were stored in absolute ethanol, were donated by members of state trapping associations. Forty-six tail clippings were donated from Maine and eighteen from New Hampshire (Harrison,