KNOWLEDGE BASE

This was the first study to try to understand how North American beavers select their habitat across different spatial scales, using beavers in an area of the USA as a data source. They found that the same factors appeared to influence beavers' decisions to settle in a specific area within the landscape, and a specific site within that area. Beavers here preferred areas with more woody wetland and less open water, for example, which likely gave them easier and safer places to forage.

This study tested beavers and prairie dogs from an area of Mexico for evidence of a specific bacterium. This bacteria can infect mammals including humans. Whilst no animals showed any clinical sign of the disease, both species were producing antibodies to the bacteria, indicating that the bacteria was around. The text also notes that little is known about beavers in Mexico.

North American beavers are an invasive species in Patagonia. In this study, a computer simulation model was used to test different management options. The results suggested that a 100 km-wide buffer zone (in which beavers are culled) could slow the spread of beavers but not stop it. The authors suggested that the buffer could still be useful as part of a multi-pronged approach.

Between 1987 and 2016, the spawning of common frogs in Bavarian ponds (Germany) was studied. Beavers, present in the area since 2012, had built over 20 dams which had changed the distribution of frogs in the valley and the hydrology of the river. By 2015, over 40% of the frog's egg clumps were in beaver-modified ponds. Please note, this text is mostly written in German.

This study examined how seasonal food availability affects the digestive tract of Eurasian beavers in Poland. Beavers' diets changed throughout the year, and the composition of their food influenced the distribution of digested material in beavers' digestive system. For example, in winter and autumn, when poor-quality food dominated, there was more digested material in the colon. In winter, woody material was more prevalent in beaver diets whereas, in summer, herbs were more common.