KNOWLEDGE BASE

Written by experts, this book describes the ecology of beavers and non-lethal management options for mitigating any negative impacts beavers may have on human activity. With a focus on Britain, it describes the history of the Eurasian beaver before analysing the role of beavers in fostering biodiversity and reducing flood risk. A number of non-lethal management techniques are also described, providing valuable guidance for coexisting with beavers. Please note, this resource is not open-access.

This study tested a theory of how beavers forage by observing 27 beavers in Canada. They found that living in a higher- or lower-quality habitat (i.e. with more or less nutritious food) did not influence how much time beavers spent foraging. The time of year did have an influence, as may other factors which are suggested as future avenues of research.

In Colorado, USA, researchers studied the connection between landslides and beavers on small headwater streams. They found that streams with landslides were more likely to have beaver dams than those without. They identified that this was because landslides created parts of the stream which are less steep and more suitable for beavers.

In Norway, researchers tracked 25 beavers to understand their movement patterns in relation to territory size and age. They found that beavers with larger territories traveled farther, spending more time patrolling and foraging closer to the shoreline than those with smaller territories. Older beavers tended to spend more time near territory borders, likely due to a boldness which comes with experience.

This study examined the Eurasian beaver population in Switzerland, revealing that they came from two different genetic groups. Overall, the population had low genetic diversity was observed and the study showed that individuals up to 50 km apart were closely related. No evidence of North American beaver presence was found.