1. Muskrats Ondatra zibethicus are reported to have wide‐ranging effects on wetland habitats, sometimes earning them the labels ‘keystone species’ or ‘ecosystem engineers’.
2. We conducted an extensive review of the scientific literature and evaluated evidence for muskrats as potential keystone species or ecosystem engineers, and more generally, their known impacts on wetland ecosystems.
3. We identified 363 publications (peer‐reviewed articles, books, theses, and reports) regarding muskrats, 202 of which were in an ecological context. Only 6% (n = 13) of these explicitly considered muskrats as ecosystem engineers (n = 9) or keystone species (n = 4).
4. Our review found that muskrat populations may have broad effects on both wetland flora and fauna. However, studies generally occurred over small spatiotemporal scales and used dissimilar methods and reporting, which limited our inference regarding muskrats’ influence on wetland ecosystems.
5. Research explicitly identifying muskrats as ecosystem engineers or keystone species is limited, but published evidence suggests that muskrats may have an effect on plant species diversity and habitat heterogeneity, which in turn may influence other animal species. However, long‐term and experimental research is needed to uncover impacts that muskrats have on ecosystems.

中文翻译：

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麝香Ondatra zibethicus如何影响生态系统？证据审查

1. 据报道，麝香鼠Ondatra zibethicus对湿地栖息地具有广泛的影响，有时使它们获得“基石物种”或“生态系统工程师”的标签。
2. 我们对科学文献进行了广泛的审查，并评估了麝香作为潜在关键物种或生态系统工程师的证据，并且更广泛地评估了它们对湿地生态系统的已知影响。
3. 我们确定了363篇有关麝香的出版物（经过同行评审的文章，书籍，论文和报告），其中202篇属于生态环境。 在这些麝香中，只有6％（n = 13）被明确认为是生态系统工程师（n  = 9）或基石物种（n  = 4）。
4. 我们的评论发现，麝香鼠种群可能对湿地动植物都有广泛的影响。但是，研究通常在较小的时空范围内进行，并使用了不同的方法和报告，这限制了我们对麝香对湿地生态系统影响的推断。
5. 明确将麝香树确定为生态系统工程师或重点物种的研究有限，但已发表的证据表明，麝香树可能会对植物物种多样性和生境异质性产生影响，进而影响其他动物物种。但是，需要长期和实验研究来发现麝香鼠对生态系统的影响。