“My experience with beaver waters is that the fish tend to be around the lodges. Wherever you have woody debris you have aquatic invertebrates – aka fish food. Beaver are very willing to do the work of fisheries trust employees for free!” Duncan Pepper, Fishinguide Scotland
The history of beavers in Britain
Beavers once roamed across our countryside, shaping the landscape and waterways, providing habitat for a huge abundance of fish, birds and insects.
- Native to Britain – beavers once covered the northern hemisphere from North America to the Arctic Circle, including the whole of Britain.
- Hunted to extinction – beaver glands contain salicylic acid from their willow diet, which was prized as a medicinal cure-all. A single gland could equal a year’s wage for a mediaeval worker. Their fur is also extraordinarily soft and warm and in high demand for coats and hats.
- Evolving alongside salmon – fish and beavers evolved alongside each other for 40 million years.
- Part of human history – beaver pools provided early people with places to hunt, fish to eat, furs to wear and plants to harvest.
Mainstream – the return of the beaver
Beaver Trust’s first programme Mainstream is about making beavers a normal part of our waterscape once again. We encourage farmers, fisheries, foresters and communities to work together to restore river habitats using beavers.
Beaver wetlands bring benefits
- Clean water – beaver dams and ponds filter out pollutants such as agricultural chemicals.
- Captured carbon – beaver dams hold back silt that locks up carbon, while the huge amount of new plant growth also forms a carbon sink.
- Reduce flooding – beaver dams and pool systems slow the speed of water flowing through the system and prevent flooding downstream.
- Prevent drought – beaver pools hold water for use in periods of drought.
- Abundant nature – beaver pools provide nurseries for invertebrates, fish and amphibians; while clearings fill with wild flowers, attracting insects and birds.
Natural water engineering
Beavers are often called “engineers”. Think of all the manmade structures that correspond to beaver technology: dams, weirs, locks, canals. As we return to “natural engineering” to help us adapt to climate change, we can learn from these remarkable animals:
- Approved by experts – beavers are such capable ecosystem engineers that they have been proposed as a tool for implementing the EU Water Framework Directive.
- Our best solution – research by the Environment Agency suggests returning England’s waterways to a good ecological condition could generate £21 billion in benefits over 37 years. Beavers could play a part in helping us to achieve this.
- Huge cost savings – beavers know instinctively what to do and they are highly effective. It’s up to us to work out how to live alongside them and make the most of what they can do.
Healthy rivers mean healthy people
Beaver landscapes are special places – they feel truly wild, bursting with birdsong, the buzzing of insects, new plantlife and sunlight on water. This is good for nature and good for people too.
- Good for our mental health – by immersing ourselves in the unique landscapes beavers create, we can reconnect with nature, and improve our own health and well-being.
- Living alongside nature – we need to remember how to live better with nature if we are to farm, work and live sustainably in the future. Working with beavers can help us open our minds to a new way of collaborating with wildlife.
- Learning as we go – by collaborating with scientists, we will be able to monitor the hydrological, ecological and sociological impacts of beavers. And we will share this with young people in schools and universities. Our work will be open source and accessible to all.
The science of beavers
We have gathered decades of scientific research from UK, continental Europe and North America to share with people interested in diving deeper into the world beavers.
From beaver biology, ecology and management to their effects on flooding, farming, pollution, carbon, fish and other wildlife, research has been done to help us understand beavers and their wetlands, and to inform how we can co-exist with them.
This list of resources is being constantly amended and updated so check back again soon for more information.
THE VALUE OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
It is well known that beavers provide benefits through the ecosystem services (water purification, moderation of extreme events, habitat and biodiversity provision, nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas sequestration, recreational hunting and fishing, water supply, and non-consumptive recreation) they provide but quantifying and putting a common system of values on these services is no mean feat. It’s a complex area and there are estimates for some services in some areas in the literature. However Stella Thompson and her colleagues have gone a step further and estimated the value of beaver benefits from across the Northern Hemisphere; their findings are presented in a paper recently published in Mammal Review (see Beavers, people and management below). The numbers are large, in terms of millions of USD, for each service from across the range of both North American and Eurasian beavers. Such schemes, but maybe based on estimates at local, regional and national scales, could greatly assist in offsetting the costs to landowners and others resulting from beaver impacts by the ecosystem benefits that beavers provide.
SMOKEY THE BEAVER
A recent, topical paper on how beavers create wildfire refuge areas in USA has been published by Emily Fairfax and Andrew Whittle, and Ben Goldfarb has written a popular review of this important work in National Geographic. It is another example of the benefits of wetland habitats and rich riparian corridors created by beavers for both humans and wildlife. The full references to these articles can be found in the Beavers and land and water section below.
Beavers, people and management
Beaver Management Strategy Framework
Authors: River Otter Beaver Trial (ROBT) Management Group Year: 2019 Source: Devon Wildlife Trust
The five-year ROBT finished in March 2020. The Management Strategy Framework document was produced towards the end of 2019 to inform DEFRA on a future strategic management approach that should be adopted for the population of beavers found in the River Otter after the trial ended. The framework will also be of use for the management of beavers in other catchments.
Conflicts over wildlife conservation: Learning from the reintroduction of beavers in Scotland
Authors: Coz, D. M. & Young, J. C. Year: 2020 Source: People and Nature 2(2): 406-419.
This paper examines the social dimension of planned and unplanned beaver reintroductions in Scotland to understand the issue, the potential for, and impact of, conflict between groups or individuals with differing views on beavers and reintroductions.
The Eurasian Beaver Handbook: Ecology and Management of Castor fiber
Authors: Campbell-Palmer, R., Gow, D., Campbell, R., Dickinson, H., Girling, S., Gurnell, J., Halley, D., Jones, S., Lisle, S., Parker, H., Schwab, G. & Rosell, F. . Year: 2016 Source: Exeter: Pelagic Publishing, UK.
This compact handbook tells you all you need to know about the ecology and management options for beavers.
Ecosystem services provided by beavers Castor spp.
Authors: Thompson, S., Vehkaoja, M., Pellikka, J. & Nummi, P. Year: 2020 Source: Mammal Review n/a(n/a).
The authors have estimated the value of ecosystem services provided by beavers across the Northern Hemisphere. Services include: water purification, moderation of extreme events, habitat and biodiversity provision, nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas sequestration, recreational hunting and fishing, water supply, and non-consumptive recreation. Despite the many assumptions that have had to be made in the estimation process, the values are large. The study demonstrates how payments for ecosystem services can be quantified, and points the way forward as to how such value estimates can be used by wildlife and government organisations to offset losses due to beavers incurred by, for example, landowners and fisheries.
Beavers and wildlife
The impacts of beavers Castor spp. on biodiversity and the ecological basis for their reintroduction to Scotland, UK
Authors: Stringer, A.P. & Gaywood, M.J. Year: 2016 Source : Mammal Review: 46(4): 270-283.
This review investigates the mechanisms by which beavers act as ecosystem engineers, and discusses the possible impacts of beavers on the biodiversity of Scotland.
Rewilding wetlands: beaver as agents of within-habitat heterogeneity and the responses of contrasting biota
Authors: Wilby, N. J., Law, A., Levanoni, O., Foster, G. & Ecke, F. Year: 2018 Source : Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 373(1761)
Plants and beetles, as examples of different functional groups, were surveyed in beaver ponds and coexisting ‘other’ wetlands in Sweden. The results demonstrated that beavers should benefit aquatic biodiversity across different scales.
Qualitative and quantitative effects of reintroduced beavers on stream fish
Authors: Kemp, P. S., Worthington, T. A., Langford, T. E. L., Tree, A. R. J. & Gaywood, M. J. Year: 2012 Source: Fish and Fisheries 13(2): 158-181.
This paper presents a systematic review of the impacts of beaver dams on fish and fish habitat based on the literature and expert opinion.
Ecology and movement of juvenile salmonids in beaver-influenced and beaver-free tributaries in the Trøndelag province of Norway
Authors: Malison, Rachel L. & Halley, Duncan J. Year: 2020 Source: Ecology of Freshwater Fish n/a: n/a
This paper looks at how beaver dams affected habitat, food resources, growth and movement of juvenile Atlantic salmon and trout. The authors found that dams dams did not block the movement of juvenile salmonids or their ability to use upstream habitats. It appears that it is unlikely that dams negatively affect the juvenile stage of salmon or trout populations.
A review of the influence of beaver Castor fiber on amphibian assemblages in the floodplains of European temperate streams and rivers
Authors: Dalbeck, Lutz, Hachtel, Monika & Campbell-Palmer, Róisín Year: 2020 Source: The Herpetological Journal 30(3): 135-146.
Based on a literature review, the authors have assessed the effects of beaver dams on amphibians (19 species) in streams across Europe. One of their key findings is that beavers are particularly important for amphibians in headwater streams. These streams constitute more than two-thirds of water bodies in temperate European catchments. They propose that by creating habitat for endangered European amphibian species, beavers contribute to their long-term conservation.
Beaver health and genetics
Reintroducing beavers Castor fiber to Britain: a disease risk analysis
Authors: Girling, S. J., Naylor, A., Fraser, M. & Campbell-Palmer, R. Year: 2019 Source: Mammal Review 49(4): 300-323.
This paper carries out a disease risk analysis, based on peer reviewed publications, for selection and health screening of Eurasian beavers prior to release into the wild in Britain.
Evidence of Leptospira species and their significance during reintroduction of Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) to Great Britain
Authors: Girling, S. J., Goodman, G., Burr, P., Pizzi, R., Naylor, A., Cole, G., Brown, D., Fraser, M., Rosell, F. N., Schwab, G., Elliott, M. & Campbell-Palmer, R. Year: 2019 Source: Veterinary Record 185(15): 482
Beavers reintroduced to Britain were screened for Leptospira species. Levels of infection were found to be low and did not appear to cause significant morbidity or mortality.
Identifying source populations for the reintroduction of the Eurasian beaver, Castor fiber L. 1758, into Britain: evidence from ancient DNA
Authors: Marr, M. M., Brace, S., Schreve, D. C. & Barnes, I. Year: 2018 Source: Scientific Reports 8(1): 2708.
If the translocation of wild beavers to establish new populations is being considered, where are the most suitable source populations? This study uses DNA analysis and radiocarbon dating on the ancient British beaver population to help understand the most appropriate source populations for the reintroduction of beavers into Britain.
Nuclear and mitochondrial genetic structure in the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) – implications for future reintroductions.
Authors: Senn, H., Ogden, R., Frosch, C., Syrůčková, A., Campbell-Palmer, R., Munclinger, P., Durka, W., Kraus, R. H. S., Saveljev, A. P., Nowak, C., Stubbe, A., Stubbe, M., Michaux, J., Lavrov, V., Samiya, R., Ulevicius, A. & Rosell, F. Year: 2014 Source: Evolutionary Applications 7(6): 645-662.
This paper considers the genetics of beavers when selecting animals for reintroduction and the risks of low genetic diversity, inbreeding depression and outbreeding depression.
Beavers and land and water
Modelling Eurasian beaver foraging habitat and dam suitability, for predicting the location and number of dams throughout catchments in Great Britain
Authors: Graham, H. A., Puttock, A., Macfarlane, W. W., Wheaton, J. M., Gilbert, J. T., Campbell-Palmer, R., Elliott, M., Gaywood, M. J., Anderson, K. & Brazier, R. E Year: 2020 Source: European Journal of Wildlife Research 66(3): 42.
Models can be helpful for understanding the suitability of habitats for species and future changes in a population over time. Here the authors have developed models to predict the distribution of beaver foraging habitat and dams within European landscape to support reintroduction policy and management.
The role of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) in the storage, emission and deposition of carbon in lakes and rivers of the River Ob flood plain, western Siberia
Authors: Cazzolla Gatti, R., Callaghan, T. V., Rozhkova-Timina, I., Dudko, A., Lim, A., Vorobyev, S. N., Kirpotin, S. N. & Pokrovsky, O. S. Year: 2018 Source: Science of The Total Environment 644: 1371-1379.
Nutrient recycling and carbon sequestration as a result of the activity of beavers are considered here i relation to river management and the conservation and management of beavers.
River Otter Beaver Trial: Science and Evidence Report.
Authors: Brazier, R., Elliot, M., Andison, E., Auster, R., Bridgewater, S., Burgess, P., Chant, J., Graham, H. A., Knott, E., Puttock, A., Sansum, P. & Vowles, A. Year: 2020 Source: Devon Wildlife Trust
The five year trial reintroduction of beavers to the River Otter in Devon started in 2015 and ends this year. A detailed research programme was carried out throughout the trial and this beautifully illustrated report summarises the findings.
Managing for large wood and beaver dams in stream corridors
Authors: Wohl, E., Scott, D. N. & Yochum, S. E. Year: 2020 Source: Gen. Tech. Rep. 404. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.
This is a comprehensive literature review concerning large wood in rivers and beaver dams. It discusses their costs and benefits and presents guidelines for identifying stream sections that maximize the potential environmental benefits associated with logjams and beaver dams, while minimizing possible hazards. Although the review primarily refers to North American beavers and landscapes, it includes extensive reference to work carried out in Britain, Europe and elsewhere.
Smokey the Beaver: beaver-dammed riparian corridors stay green during wildfire throughout the western USA
Authors: Fairfax, E. & Whittle, A. Year: 2020
This paper researches whether beavers can help protect habitats during wildfires, which recently have been causing huge and extensive problems in USA. Using remotely-sensed vegetation data from five areas before and after wildfires, the authors clearly show the benefits of beavers in vegetation fire resistance and the creation of wildlife refugia.
Ben Goldfarb has written a piece about this for the National Geographic.
Population and distribution of beavers
Population and distribution of beavers Castor fiber and Castor canadensis in Eurasia
Authors: Halley, D. J., Saveljev, A. P. & Rosell, F. Year: 2020 Source: Mammal Review n/a(n/a).
This timely paper reviews the current distribution of Eurasian beavers in Eurasia and the introduced North American beaver in Finland and north-west Russia. Beavers are continuing to colonise new areas, including densely population and low-lying areas across the region. The authors warm that beaver management strategies need to be in place in these landscapes before beaver densities increase to a point where negative impacts will occur.
Population of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) in Europe
Author: Wróbel, M. Year: 2020 Source: Global Ecology and Conservation 23: e01046
The author updates information about the number of beavers in different European countries.
Books about beavers
The Eurasian Beaver By Roisin Campbell-Palmer et al. (2015)
Authors: Campbell-Palmer, R., Gow, D., Needham, R., Jones, S. & Rosell, F. Year 2015:
Publishers: Pelagic Publishing, Exeter, UK.
Beavers in Britain’s Past by Bryony Coles (2006)
Author: Coles, B. Year: 2006
Publishers: Oxbow Books, Oxford UK.
Nature‘s Architect: The Beaver’s Return to Our Wild Landscapes by Jim Crumley (2015)
Author: Crumley, J.. Year: 2015
Publishers: Saraband, Glasgow, UK.
Beavers (British Natural History Series) by Andrew Kitchener (2001)
Author: Kitchener, A. Year: 2001
Publishers: Whittet Books Ltd., Stowmarket, UK.
Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter by Ben Goldfarb (2019)
Author: Goldfarb, B. Year: 2019
Publishers: Chelsea Green Publishing Co., White River Junction USA.
Bringing Back the Beaver: The Story of One Man‘s Quest to Rewild Britain’s Waterways by Derek Gow (2020)
Author: Gow, D. Year: 2020 Due out in Sepetember.
Publishers: Chelsea Green Publishing Co., White River Junction USA.
The Beaver: Its Life and Impact, Second Edition by Dietland Müller-Schwarz (2011)
Author: Müller-Schwarz, D. Year: 2011
Publishers: Cornell University Press, New York, USA.
