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Hi Fred
Have not seen them eating, but have encountered quite a few shells during our provincial Mussel survey that showed tooth marks, both canines (assume those were from raccoons) as well as muskrat-sized incisors.
So I would conclude some degree of such predation... There was a study done in Minnesota about 10 years back that showed that Muskrat diets varied, with under ice scat showing up to 40% (I think) non plant material, including fish, insect nymphs, and "clams". (Can't track the paper down from home). Just because your dentition is specialised doesn't mean your diet is.
Or another interpretation is that most animals can't read, so they don't know what they are supposed to be doing (eating).
Andrew
________________________________________
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] on behalf of Fred Schueler [bckcdb@istar.ca]
Sent: May-16-14 8:11 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] lots of empty FW Mussel shells- why?
On 5/16/2014 6:54 PM, darrell@abolitphotos.ca wrote:
> Muskrats live in beaver lodges with the beavers, look at this muskrat on
> the beavers back. This is why you see mussel shells near beavers, no
> other reason Fred.
>
> http://abolitphotos.exposuremanager.com/p/animals/_mg_0595muskratontopof3beaver_3
* that's cute, but it doesn't address the huge piles of shells on
Beaver-trampled shores in northern Ontario where the local trappers say
there are few or no Muskrats.
I'm just saying that the pattern of shells in Nancy's photos is similar
to what I've seen repeatedly around Beaver lodges, starting in the
Ottawa River at Morris Island in 1995. We evidently need some sort of
electronic monitoring to get evidence of this - but if Beavers do a lot
of their predation under the ice in the winter, or even underwater in
the summer, even trail cameras wouldn't suffice.
Has anyone on the list seen a mammal eating a freshwater mussel?
fred.
==================================================
> On Fri, 16 May 2014 18:44:08 -0400, Fred Schueler <bckcdb@istar.ca> wrote:
> On 5/16/2014 6:06 PM, darrell@abolitphotos.ca wrote:
>>
>> > A beaver is a herbivore. They might nibble on mussels for calcium.
>> * but there are situations where you see shells associated with
>> intense Beaver activity, and in areas where there aren't any or many
>> Muskrats. I've seen this especially in northern Ontario where trappers
>> assure me there are few or no Muskrats. In general, Rodents are
>> herbivores only to the extent that they can't catch up with animal
>> prey - Muskrats, Red Squirrels, and Deer Mice are all active predators
>> on various animal prey. A few years ago there was a discussion of
>> Beaver predation on mussels on the UNIO-L mussel e-mail list, and
>> while a number of observers supported my idea that they're predators
>> on mussels, only one person from Alabama (no winter ice!) had actually
>> seen a Beaver eating a mussel.
>> > Muskrats are what is eating the mussels, no doubt in my mind, as simple
>> > as it might be.Been trapping all my life off and on as my father. You
>> > always see mussels on the river bank and lake shores in what we call
>> > feed beds for muskrats. They do get washed into deeper water.
>> * certainly this is usually the case, especially in places where the
>> shells are up on shore in heaps.
>> > Racoons do swim as well, ask any coon hunter that uses dogs, they
>> will actually
>> > drown a dog by getting on top of their heads. you have to be careful
>> > when hunting racoons around water with dogs. Sure they likely do not
>> > swim regularly but they do swim and very well.
>> * but to they dive for food? Has anyone on the list seen a mammal
>> eating a freshwater mussel?
>>
>> fred. ------------------------------------------------------------
>> Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
>> Daily Paintings - http://karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/
>> Vulnerable Watersheds - http://vulnerablewaters.blogspot.ca/
>> study our books - http://pinicola.ca/books/index.htm
>> RR#2 Bishops Mills, Ontario, Canada K0G 1T0
>> on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44* 52'N 75* 42'W
>> (613)258-3107 <bckcdb at istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca/
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
--
------------------------------------------------------------
Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
Daily Paintings - http://karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/
Vulnerable Watersheds - http://vulnerablewaters.blogspot.ca/
study our books - http://pinicola.ca/books/index.htm
RR#2 Bishops Mills, Ontario, Canada K0G 1T0
on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44* 52'N 75* 42'W
(613)258-3107 <bckcdb at istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca/
------------------------------------------------------------
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