KNOWLEDGE BASE

Individual beavers can be identified by the patterns of scales on their tails. However, camera traps often take pictures which are too poor in quality to identify such fine patterns. So, in this German study, 11 different cameras were tested, proving that external lenses could take photos clear enough to identify individual beavers. The article contains example photos, illustrating the difference in quality.

Studying the effects of beaver reintroduction in Klosterheden, Denmark, this research found that the presence of beavers affected flying invertebrate biomass seasonally, while also positively impacting moth diversity and increasing vegetation productivity and riparian structure.

By building a computer model which considered how European rivers will evolve with climate change, researchers tried to understand where suitable habitat for beavers could be found: in 2023, in 2050, and in 2070. They focused in on two parts of Italy and Portugal but also showed less detailed results for the whole continent. One broader finding was that the extent of suitable beaver habitat in Central and Northern Europe may decrease with climate change.

In this text, the first fossil evidence of Eurasian beavers in Mongolia was presented. The fossils were found in a cave in the Gobi Altai Mountains. The discovery suggested that suitable habitats for beavers existed in the Gobi Desert during a period of history called the Pleistocene. Fossil remains of beavers are rare in neighbouring regions, but Figure 2 contains a fascinating map of where fossil beavers have been found in Central and East Asia.

Capturing lessons from the governance of two existing BMGs in Devon, this paper identifies that BMGs could provide a "front line" for the integration of a reintroduced species, and are not fixed in structure but adaptive, influenced by national policy direction. Their role or remit could be scaled back over time and integrated into existing structures or partnerships as knowledge of reintroduced species (such as beaver) grows and its presence becomes “normalized.”
There should also be sufficient flexibility in forthcoming policy to minimize constraint on the adaptive nature of BMGs and similar groups for other reintroduced species, if they are to facilitate a sustainable coexistence.