Muskrat

Muskrats share wetland habitat with beavers and build lodges, but they're habitat users rather than habitat engineers. Muskrat lodges are constructed in existing wetlands; beaver dams create wetlands. Muskrats depend on water levels beavers set. This creates an interesting dynamic: beavers engineer habitats that muskrats then exploit, making muskrats inadvertent beneficiaries of beaver ecosystem engineering.

The muskrat's strategy is lower investment, lower return. Building a muskrat lodge requires far less effort than building a beaver dam, but muskrat lodges don't create the profound environmental transformation beaver dams do. Muskrats are optimized for exploiting conditions; beavers are optimized for creating conditions.

The business parallel is the difference between platform creators and platform participants. Muskrats are like apps built on platforms—they benefit from infrastructure someone else created and maintain. Beavers are like platform builders—they invest heavily in infrastructure that creates ecosystems others can exploit. The muskrat strategy requires less capital and creates faster returns but builds no lasting competitive advantage. When beaver ponds drain, muskrats must leave; when platforms shut down, dependent apps disappear.