KNOWLEDGE BASE

Researchers studied beavers from three different habitat types to see if their castor sacs and anal glands - the organs used to produce scents - differ according to gender. Beavers use scent to mark their territory and males are more territorial than females. In this study, they found that male beavers have bigger anal glands but smaller castor sacs than females. This suggests that each gender uses scent differently.

This text compares the historical hardwood forests of a Canadian park with present conditions, focusing on changes in tree cover, gap structure, and riparian habitat. Most species still exist in the park, some have been lost. Beaver populations have declined sharply - suppression of fires in the park has led to a reduction in disturbance of river banks, reducing the amount of food available for beavers. The text also highlights how the plight of the beaver population is tied into the plight of the local wolf population.

This study monitored the movements and habitat of two species of trout in a stream. Conditions in pools and beaver ponds were regularly measured during the monitoring period which ran from autumn into winter. Contrary to common belief, this study found that groundwater areas may not always provide stable winter habitat for the trout as they can be affected by subsurface ice. Beaver ponds offered ideal conditions. Conservation professionals should consider groundwater locations when planning habitat improvements.

This book chapter seeks to describe how different values can clash in ecological restoration initiatives by using the case of beaver re-introductions in Denmark. It examines differing views on the value of nature and biodiversity, and describes how biodiversity-based arguments are used by both proponents and critics of species restoration, who hold different understandings of biodiversity.

This researcher describes how human activity and beaver behavior greatly affects the distribution of tiny aquatic organisms called zooplankton in two rivers in Russia. One of the places where these organisms are most abundant is in beaver ponds. The study uses a theory called patch dynamics to explain this uneven distribution. Please note, this resource is not open-access.