KNOWLEDGE BASE

Camera trapping is important for wildlife management. This text proposes that 'detectability' should be structured along three dimensions: the time until first detected, the proximity to the camera's focal point, and the duration of exposure. They demonstrate the usefulness of this structure by trying to film four different species, showing also that beaver scents can be improve detectability by luring animals to the camera.

After centuries of absence, beavers are once again transforming landscapes in Britain. This article describes some of the socio-economic benefits as well as the changes that they make to local habitats and a variety of different species. It discusses experience from elsewhere in Europe around human-beaver conflicts and how these can be managed.

In streams, beaver dams can change flowing water to ponds; in lakes, they conserve and improve the diversity of still-water habitats. By digging channels, beavers connect up a variety of habitats, altering vegetation and water levels. This affects various organisms like invertebrates, fish, and birds. The author acknowledged that studying beavers' impacts on lakes is challenging because it's not always easy to find a similar enough lake (without a beaver) to compare it to. Please note, this resource is not open-access.

This study analyses 49 years of data following beavers being reintroduced to an area of Finland. As beavers moved from place to place, different sites in the area were flooded, drained, and sometimes re-flooded. This created a mosaic of different habitats which was constantly changing over time - specific sites were flooded for an average of only three years. This diversity of habitats supported diverse species communities, making beavers valuable for habitat restoration.

In 1946, North American beavers were introduced to Argentina to develop a fur trade. Their incredible expansion since then has prompted Argentina and Chile to explore eradicating the population. This article reports on a pilot eradication test in 2014 which captured 115 beavers. It talks about how future eradication efforts need to account for the type of trap being used in different types of environment. It also sets out how data collection can be improved with digital technology. Please note, this resource is not open-access.