Muskrat and nutria live in coastal marsh areas and have 

 a diet consisting of three-cornered grass, salt meadow cord- 

 grass, cattail bullwhip, alligator weed and other grasses. 

 (Muskrat may also eat small amounts of fish, mussels, insects, 

 and snails). Three-cornered grass ( Scirpus oeneyi ) is found 

 in brackish marshes in dense, uniform stands often covering 

 large areas. Marshes of three-cornered grass produce more 

 than 80 percent of the muskrat catch and many of the nutria 

 (McGinnis et al . , 1972: 2.20). 



Fur-bearing animals are affected in several ways by 

 man's activities in the coastal zone. Habitat loss 

 for fur animals consists of land disturbed by dredging and 

 channeling operations and the resulting spoil banks. An 

 indirect effect on habitat is the increased salinity in the 

 marsh resulting from channeling. Salinity changes affect 

 vegetation important to the animals, such as three-cornered 

 grass (McGinnis, et al . , 1972: 3.17-3.18). Channeling may 

 also create migrational and home range barriers for animals. 

 Crossing spoil banks will, subject many animals to increased 

 predatory vulnerability (McGinnis, et al . , 1972: 3.18). 



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