KNOWLEDGE BASE

This study aimed to understand how beaver dams affect water movement in a peatland in Canada. They found data that conflicted with previous thinking. Beaver dams may create longer paths of water flow through the peatland system, connecting more of it to the stream, with impacts on nutrient retention and downstream water quality.

As part of the 5-year Scottish Beaver Trial, interim monitoring was carried out to understand the welfare of the released beavers. This study describes how two families had successfully established territories in the first year of the trial. Radio-monitoring proved difficult because of the terrain and the vegetation, so the authors said there would be a greater focus on visual observations in future.

As part of the 5-year Scottish Beaver Trial, interim monitoring was carried out to understand the impacts of beavers on hydrology, biodiversity, and other factors. This study reported on field observations from 2010 and showed that beavers had had minimal impact on the river habitat. Beavers were mainly active in the lochs and had few impacts on streams. The report notes that future surveys will thus focus on changes in standing water habitats.

Rapid industrialisation in Alberta, Canada, around the turn of the millenium has changed the types of habitat available, leading to an increase in deer populations and the wolf populations that prey on them. This has raised wolf encounters with caribou, which previously were able to stay away from wolves more effectively, contributing to declines in caribou. Beavers also became a more important food source for wolves during this time. This fascinating text describes in detail how industrialisation impacted predator-prey dynamics in this region and set out some implications for caribou conservation.

This book is an accessibly-written summary of the natural history of beavers. It looks at the organisms as individuals, their behaviour - including as family units, their ecology and population dynamics, and a history of beavers' interactions with humans. Please note, this resource is not open-access.