KNOWLEDGE BASE

This article presented a 10-step method combining (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) SWOT and Multicriteria Spatial Decision Support System (MCSDSS) analyses to assess potential opportunities for urban ecosystem restoration plans which meet the needs of both humans and non-humans. The method was applied to the case of bringing beavers to Berlin, Germany, and the paper reflected on what worked and what could be improved about the process.

River restoration in North America increasingly focuses on beavers. However, this important text showed how the subtext of this 'beaver fever' often views and values beavers primarily in terms of what they provide for humans. The authors urged settler scientists and practitioners in North America to shift towards engaging with beavers in a relational, mutual way. They emphasised the importance of incorporating millenia of Indigenous knowledge and partnering with Native peoples to support diverse, thriving river systems, for humans and more-than-humans. Please note, this resource is not open-access.

This study examined the structure of the Eurasian beaver's orbit: the part of the skull which protects the eyeball. It found that females had larger orbital length and depth. These findings provided valuable reference data for beaver opticians! Not so much for giving them reading glasses, but more for treating eye-releated disorders.

This article presented a 20-year study of beavers in the Polistovo-Lovatskaya bog system, Russia. It analysed their distribution, population density, and impact on vegetation, forecasting that beavers will remain in the area for at least the next 200 years. Please note, this resource is not open-access.

Beavers don't hang around! After five centuries of absence, beavers first returned to north-eastern Italy in 2018. Some illegal releases in Central Italy shortly followed. A couple of years later, field surveys were conducted (between December 2021 and January 2023) to understand the populations' ranges. At least 40 individuals were documented, with Figure 6 showing the different regions of the country in which beavers can be found. The authors emphasised the importance of monitoring through field surveys to understand beavers' expansion and to manage potential conflicts.