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Review
. 2021 Jan-Feb;8(1):e1494.
doi: 10.1002/wat2.1494. Epub 2020 Nov 27.

Beaver: Nature's ecosystem engineers

Affiliations
Review

Beaver: Nature's ecosystem engineers

Richard E Brazier et al. WIREs Water. 2021 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Beavers have the ability to modify ecosystems profoundly to meet their ecological needs, with significant associated hydrological, geomorphological, ecological, and societal impacts. To bring together understanding of the role that beavers may play in the management of water resources, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems, this article reviews the state-of-the-art scientific understanding of the beaver as the quintessential ecosystem engineer. This review has a European focus but examines key research considering both Castor fiber-the Eurasian beaver and Castor canadensis-its North American counterpart. In recent decades species reintroductions across Europe, concurrent with natural expansion of refugia populations has led to the return of C. fiber to much of its European range with recent reviews estimating that the C. fiber population in Europe numbers over 1.5 million individuals. As such, there is an increasing need for understanding of the impacts of beaver in intensively populated and managed, contemporary European landscapes. This review summarizes how beaver impact: (a) ecosystem structure and geomorphology, (b) hydrology and water resources, (c) water quality, (d) freshwater ecology, and (e) humans and society. It concludes by examining future considerations that may need to be resolved as beavers further expand in the northern hemisphere with an emphasis upon the ecosystem services that they can provide and the associated management that will be necessary to maximize the benefits and minimize conflicts. This article is categorized under:Water and Life > Nature of Freshwater Ecosystems.

Keywords: beaver; catchment management; ecological restoration; ecosystem engineers; hydrology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Examples of dam construction and channel avulsion resulting from beaver dam construction from the River Otter catchment, England. Panel (a) shows an example where a divergent flow path has re‐entered the main channel resulting in head‐cut erosion. Panel (b) shows the type of multi‐thread channel form that occurs downstream of dams in wide, low gradient floodplains. Panel (c) shows a beaver dam on a 4th order stretch of river. (Reproduced with permission from Photos © Hugh Graham and Alan Puttock)
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The influence of beaver activity on the geomorphology of incised streams: (a) low‐flow damming of confined channels with high‐flow blowouts causes overtopping, bank widening, and excavation of the channel bed; (b) sediment becomes more mobile and the channel reconfigures with vegetation establishment; (c) channel widening reduces high‐flow peak stream power and this provides suitable conditions for wider, more stable dams; (d) sediment accumulates in ponds and raises the height of the channel with dams overtopped and small blow‐outs occurring where dams are abandoned; (e) process repeats until dams are rebuilt, channel widens and the water table rises sufficiently to reconnect river channel to the floodplain; and (f) high heterogeneity occurs with vegetation and sediment communities establishing themselves, multi‐threaded channels and ponds increase reserves of surface water and dams and dead wood reduce flows and provide wetland habitats. (Reproduced with permission from Pollock et al., 2014)
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Flow Diagram of expected change following beaver return. (Reproduced with permission from Bouwes et al., 2016)
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
A summary figure for the Devon Beaver Project: (a) aerial photo showing the beaver wetland nestled amongst an agriculturally dominated landscape; (b) an example hydrograph showing the contrast in flow regime between water entering the site (blue) and water leaving the site (red); (b) summary water quality results from the site for each figure "Above Beaver" to the left is the concentration entering the site and "Below Beaver" to the right is concentration leaving the site. From left to right: suspended sediment, phosphate, total oxidized nitrogen, and dissolved organic carbon

References

FURTHER READING

    1. Wróbel, M. (2020). Population of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) in Europe. Global Ecology and Conservation, 23, e01046 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01046. - DOI
    1. Burchsted, D., & Daniels, M. D. (2014). Classification of the alterations of beaver dams to headwater streams in northeastern Connecticut, U.S.A. Geomorphology, 205, 36–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2012年12月02日9.
    1. Klotz, R. L. (2013). Factors driving the metabolism of two north temperate ponds. Hydrobiologia, 711(1), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750‐013‐1450‐8.
    1. Enck, J. W., Bishop, P. G., Brown, T. L. & Lamendola, J. E. 1992. Beaver‐related Attitudes, Experiences and Knowledge of Key Stakeholders in Wildlife Management Unit 21. HDRU Series 92‐7. Cornell University, Department of Natural Resources, Human Dimensions Research Unit, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/41318/HDRUReport92-7.....
    1. Jonker, S. A., Organ, J. F., Muth, R. M., Zwick, R. R. & Siemer, W. F. 2010. Stakeholder Norms Toward Beaver Management in Massachusetts. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 73(7), 1158‐1165. https://doi.org/10.2193/2004‐160.

References

    1. Anderson, N. L. , Paszkowski, C. A. , & Hood, G. A. (2015). Linking aquatic and terrestrial environments: Can beaver canals serve as movement corridors for pond‐breeding amphibians? Animal Conservation, 18(3), 287–294. 10.1111/acv.12170 - DOI
    1. Auster, R. E. , Barr, S. , & Brazier, R. (2020a). Alternative perspectives of the angling community on Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) reintroduction in the river otter beaver trial. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 10.1080/09640568.2020.1816933 - DOI
    1. Auster, R. E. , Barr, S. , & Brazier, R. (2020b). Improving engagement in managing reintroduction conflicts: Learning from beaver reintroduction. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2020.1837089
    1. Auster, R. E. , Puttock, A. , & Brazier, R. (2019). Unravelling perceptions of Eurasian beaver reintroduction in Great Britain. Area, 52(2), 364–375. 10.1111/area.12576 - DOI
    1. Bashinskiy, I. V. (2014). Impact assessment of European beaver reintroduction on amphibians of small rivers. Russian Journal of Biological Invasions, 5, 134–145. 10.1134/S2075111714030035 - DOI

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