Common reed also provides nesting cover for wide variety of waterfowl and shoreline birds. Waterfowl eat the seed, and muskrats and nutrias eat the rhizomes and stems (Stubbendieck et al., 2003).

What animals eat reeds?

Birds eat the seeds of reeds and muskrats eat reed rhizomes, while tiny macrophyte plants provide food for insects, waterfowl, muskrats and beavers. Reeds and other tall plants hide animals, like deer and smaller mammals, and are also favorite nesting areas for water birds such as mallards, Canada geese and herons.

What eats Phragmites australis?

The rhizome miners, large wainscot (Rhizedra lutosa): The large wainscot moth is one of the few insects in North America that attacks Phragmites rhizomes. First the larvae feed on young shoots, then dig into the rhizomes where they eat, grow, and fill their home with droppings until it is a hollowed husk.