KNOWLEDGE BASE

This experiment measured sedimentation rates in beaver ponds and oxbow lakes along a river in Russia. Beaver ponds showed higher sedimentation rates, with the sediment containing less organic matter than in oxbow lakes. The text described how different beaver activities may have influenced these results, affecting biodiversity and potentially increasing pollutants like phosphorus and zinc. Please note, this article is written in Russian, although the (fairly long) abstract is available in English.

This study was the first to explore the bacterial communities present in the guts of the Eurasian beaver. It found that different gut compartments, like the cecum and colon, had different bacteria. These bacteria help in breaking down plant material the beavers eat. The study showed how the distribution of bacteria differed from that of the North American beaver.

This study looked at the skulls of 25 Eurasian beavers of both sexes to understand their head shape. The measurements showed some big differences between male and female beavers, and the researchers found an interesting dent in the back of the skull.

Ecologists compared beaver-modified with beaver-free sites in Finland to understand beavers' role in supporting other mammals. They found that beaver activity increased mammal species richness by 83% - species like moose, otters, pine martens, and weasels used beaver areas more, especially in winter.

This study in north-western Poland found that, whilst adult wolves overwhelmingly ate ungulates such as deer, wolf pups ate much more beaver than their parents. This paper highlighted how more research was needed to understand how wolf diets change as they grow. Please note, this resource is not open-access.