Science database
KNOWLEDGE BASE
We have gathered decades of scientific research from Great Britain, continental Europe and North America to share with people interested in diving deeper into the world of beavers.
This list of resources is being constantly amended and updated.
Showing 774 articles
Whole-community facilitation by beaver: Ecosystem engineer increases waterbird diversity
Published by: Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
1st October 2014
This multi-decade study in Finland showed that beaver-induced flooding increased the number and abundance of seven waterbird species - all of the species which were monitored. The impact was especially strong during the first two years after flooding. The authors concluded that supporting beavers is an effective strategy for enhancing wetland biodiversity and waterbird communities. Please note, this resource is not open-access.
Admixture of two phylogeographic lineages of the Eurasian beaver in Poland
Published by: Mammalian Biology
1st September 2014
In Poland, documented beaver reintroductions have mostly used beavers from eastern Europe, but the country sits quite close to Germany. Beavers from Germany have a different genetic lineage. This paper looks at the DNA of 77 beavers from different parts of Poland and sees that beavers from Germany have likely migrated into Poland naturally, too. The paper discusses implications for how we understand the genetic lineages of Eurasian beavers. Please note, this resource is not open-access.
Sex discrimination via anal gland secretion in a territorial monogamous mammal
Published by: Ethology
12th July 2014
Unusually for rodents, beavers are monogamous. This study tested if Eurasian beavers can tell the sex of intruders based on scent. Both sexes responded more strongly to the scents of male intruders rather than female intruders. This suggests that they can tell the difference and that the male poses more of a threat.
The impact of beaver dams on the morphology of a river in the eastern United States with implications for river restoration
Published by: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
1st July 2014
River restoration projects in the USA often aim to stabilise channels and store sediment. Introducing beavers is being considered to achieve these aims. This text reports on how beavers' dam-building activity impacted the evolution of a river channel. This is a river at a gradient and on a type of soil which hadn't been researched much before! The results showed that beavers could be helpful for river restoration, stabilising the river channel and encouraging sediment deposition.
Beavers (Castor canadensis) influence habitat for juvenile salmon in a large Alaskan river floodplain
Published by: Freshwater Biology
1st June 2014
By damming, beavers impact the habitats available in an Alaskan river. This influenced other aspects of the ecosystem, including the amount and distribution of juvenile salmon. Such young salmon could still access most of the small streams and young ponds, but were blocked from accessing some of the older ponds. Times of flood helped the salmon to get around the dams.