Muskrat trapping data in the Netherlands 1941 – 1970, at municipal level per year

Occurrence
Latest version published by Netherlands Biodiversity Information Facility (NLBIF) on Feb 15, 2026 Netherlands Biodiversity Information Facility (NLBIF)
Publication date:
15 February 2026
License:
CC0 1.0

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 5,625 records in English (259 KB) - Update frequency: as needed
Metadata as an EML file download in English (14 KB)
Metadata as an RTF file download in English (14 KB)

Description

Trapped muskrats in the Netherlands have been manually registered at municipal level from 1941 until 1970. These data have yielded a valuable dataset that has been used in multiple studies. This dataset is part of a series of datasets concerning trapping muskrats and coypu , from 1941 until present. The trapping data of muskrats and Coypu in the Netherlands is available in various GBIF datasets with different spatial and temporal accuracy:

1. Muskrat trapping data in the Netherlands 1941 – 1970, data at municipal level per year; this dataset

2. Muskrat trapping data in the Netherlands 1941 – 1986, data at provincial level per year

3. Coypu trapping data in the Netherlands 1988 – 2013, data at organization level per year

4. Muskrat trapping data in the Netherlands 1987 – 2014, data on 5x5 km level per period of four weeks (https://doi.org/10.15468/ytr96y)

5. MICA - Muskrat and coypu occurrences collected by UVW in the Netherlands (from 2014 onwards), data per trapped animal with exact location and date (https://doi.org/10.15468/qjds4c)

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 5,625 records.

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is Netherlands Biodiversity Information Facility (NLBIF). To the extent possible under law, the publisher has waived all rights to these data and has dedicated them to the Public Domain (CC0 1.0). Users may copy, modify, distribute and use the work, including for commercial purposes, without restriction.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 869f86cf-fe61-4b79-9190-96d3a830e04e.  Netherlands Biodiversity Information Facility (NLBIF) publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Netherlands Biodiversity Information Facility.

Keywords

Occurrence

Contacts

Dolf Moerkens
  • Metadata Provider
  • Originator
  • Point Of Contact
  • Policy advisor
Unie van Waterschappen
  • Koningskade 40
NL-2596 AA Den Haag
Zuid-Holland
NL
  • +31.6.53334668
Peter Blanker
  • Originator
  • Policy advisor
Waterschap Scheldestromen
  • Kanaalweg 1
NL-4337PA Middelburg
Zeeland
NL
  • +31.6.5310445
Jeroen Creuwels
  • Originator
  • Data manager
NLBIF
  • PO Box 9517
NL-2300 RA Leiden
NL
  • +31.71.7519600

Geographic Coverage

The Netherlands

Bounding Coordinates South West [50.709, 3.274], North East [53.606, 7.306]

Taxonomic Coverage

The target species for this dataset is Ondatra zibethicus.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Vertebratae
Class Mammalia
Order Rodentia
Family Cricetidae

Sampling Methods

Only trapped (dead) muskrats were registered

Study Extent The Netherlands
Quality Control Trapping is carried out by professional trappers

Method step description:

  1. Data are collected in the field by specialized trappers, using the predefined sampling protocol.
  2. In R the location (on municipality level are georeferenced with a Google geocoding API, yielding geographic coordinates and the uncertainty of coordinates. These uncertainties are calculated from current borders of the municipality. Sometimes they have to be slightly adjusted due to changes of municipality (in most cases merging with other municipalities).
  3. An R script script is created to transform the original data structure and add extra taxonomic information, as well other information.
  4. The output is an DarwinCore occurrence file, which is uploaded via the NLBIF IPT and documented with metadata.

Bibliographic Citations

  1. Beheer van de Muskusrat in Nederland. Synthese van een grootschalige veldproef en parallelle studies https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325441957_Beheer_van_de_Muskusrat_in_Nederland_Synthese_van_een_grootschalige_veldproef_en_parallelle_studies_AW-rapport_2458_Feanwalden_Altenburg_Wymenga_ecologisch_onderzoek
  2. Technische rapportage "objectbescherming en analyse van ontwikkelingen in de proefuurhokken" https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326463303_Technische_rapportage_objectbescherming_en_analyse_van_ontwikkelingen_in_de_proefuurhokken
  3. Toekomst van het muskusrattenbeheer in Nederland. De mogelijkheden onderzocht https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329375313_Toekomst_van_het_muskusrattenbeheer_in_Nederland_De_mogelijkheden_onderzocht
  4. Cost-Benefit analysis of invasive muskrat control in The Netherlands: Complete removal as financially rational strategy https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341741951_Cost-Benefit_analysis_of_invasive_muskrat_control_in_The_Netherlands_Complete_removal_as_financially_rational_strategy
  5. A Large‐Scale Experiment to Evaluate Control of Invasive Muskrats https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342070750_A_Large-Scale_Experiment_to_Evaluate_Control_of_Invasive_Muskrats
  6. Damage to dykes and levees in the ­ Netherlands is extensive and increases with muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) density https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335110265_Damage_to_dykes_and_levees_in_the_-_Netherlands_is_extensive_and_increases_with_muskrat_Ondatra_zibethicus_density
  7. Evidence for the effectiveness of controlling muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus L.) populations by trapping https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333028432_Evidence_for_the_effectiveness_of_controlling_muskrat_Ondatra_zibethicus_L_populations_by_trapping
  8. Intensieve bestrijding van muskusrat en nutria in Nederland. Ervaring gebaseerd op jarenlange controle en onderzoek https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330313252_Intensive_Bekampfung_von_Bisam_und_Nutria_in_den_Niederlanden_Erfahrungen_auf_Grundlage_langjahriger_Bekampfung_und_Forschung
  9. A historical perspective on the effects of trapping and controlling the muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) in The Netherlands https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297585112_A_historical_perspective_on_the_effects_of_trapping_and_controlling_the_muskrat_Ondatra_zibethicus_in_The_Netherlands

Additional Metadata

Alternative Identifiers 869f86cf-fe61-4b79-9190-96d3a830e04e
https://tryout.nlbif.nl/resource?r=muskrat_nl_1941-1964