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Aguirre I, Hood GA, Westbrook CJ. Short-term dynamics of beaver dam flow states. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 919:170825. [PMID: 38340831 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Beavers (Castor canadensis and C. fiber) build dams that modify catchment and pond water balances, and it has been suggested that they can be a nature-based solution for reducing flood hydrographs, enhancing low flow hydrographs and restoring hydrological functioning of degraded streams. How water moves through a beaver dam is determined by its flow state (e.g., overflow, underflow). However, current conceptual models only consider flow state as changing over the beaver site occupation-abandonment cycle. To assess whether flow state changes at shorter timescales and identify possible triggers (e.g., rainfall, animals), we integrated camera trap imagery, machine learning, water level measurements, and hydrometeorological data at beaver dams in a montane peatland in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Contrary to current models, we found that flow states changed frequently, changing a maximum 12 times during the 139-day study period, but that changes had limited synchronicity amongst the dams in the same stream. More than two-thirds of the changes coincided with rainfall events. We observed no changes in flow state in response to beaver activity or wildlife crossings perhaps due to the camera positioning. Our findings augment the long-term oriented framework, which links changes to the occupancy cycle of a beaver pond and frequent and hydrological-driven changes. To develop realistic predictions of hydrological impacts of beaver dams, ecohydrological models should update their representation of the influence of beaver dams to include short-term dynamism of flow states and potential triggers. Our study advances the understanding of the important, yet understudied, role of beaver dams in stream restoration and climate change initiatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio Aguirre
- Department of Geography and Planning, Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5C8, Canada.
| | - Glynnis A Hood
- Department of Science, University of Alberta, Augustana Faculty, 4901 - 46 Avenue Camrose, Alberta T4V 2R3, Canada.
| | - Cherie J Westbrook
- Department of Geography and Planning, Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5C8, Canada.
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2
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Smufer F, Casas-Ruiz JP, St-Pierre A, del Giorgio PA. Integrating Beaver Ponds into the Carbon Emission Budget of Boreal Aquatic Networks: A Case Study at the Watershed Scale. Ecosystems 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-023-00835-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
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3
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Roth HK, Nelson AR, McKenna AM, Fegel TS, Young RB, Rhoades CC, Wilkins MJ, Borch T. Impact of beaver ponds on biogeochemistry of organic carbon and nitrogen along a fire-impacted stream. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. PROCESSES & IMPACTS 2022; 24:1661-1677. [PMID: 36004537 DOI: 10.1039/d2em00184e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires, which are increasing in frequency and severity in the western U.S., impact water quality through increases in erosion, and transport of nutrients and metals. Meanwhile, beaver populations have been increasing since the early 1900s, and the ponds they create slow or impound hydrologic and elemental fluxes, increase soil saturation, and have a high potential to transform redox active elements (e.g., oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and metals). However, it remains unknown how the presence of beaver ponds in burned watersheds may impact retention and transformation of chemical constituents originating in burned uplands (e.g., pyrogenic dissolved organic matter; pyDOM) and the consequences for downstream water quality. Here, we investigate the impact of beaver ponds on the chemical properties and molecular composition of dissolved forms of C and N, and the microbial functional potential encoded within these environments. The chemistry and microbiology of surface water and sediment changed along a stream sequence starting upstream of fire and flowing through multiple beaver ponds and interconnecting stream reaches within a burned high-elevation forest watershed. The relative abundance of N-containing compounds increased in surface water of the burned beaver ponds, which corresponded to lower C/N and O/C, and higher aromaticity as characterized by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). The resident microbial communities lack the capacity to process such aromatic pyDOM, though genomic analyses demonstrate their potential to metabolize various compounds in the anaerobic sediments of the beaver ponds. Collectively, this work highlights the role of beaver ponds as biological "hotspots" with unique biogeochemistry in fire-impacted systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly K Roth
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
| | - Amelia R Nelson
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Amy M McKenna
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Ion Cyclotron Resonance Facility, Florida State University, FL, USA
| | - Timothy S Fegel
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S. Forest Service, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Robert B Young
- Chemical Analysis & Instrumentation Laboratory, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA
| | - Charles C Rhoades
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S. Forest Service, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Michael J Wilkins
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Thomas Borch
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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Tape KD, Clark JA, Jones BM, Kantner S, Gaglioti BV, Grosse G, Nitze I. Expanding beaver pond distribution in Arctic Alaska, 1949 to 2019. Sci Rep 2022; 12:7123. [PMID: 35504957 PMCID: PMC9065087 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-09330-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Beavers were not previously recognized as an Arctic species, and their engineering in the tundra is considered negligible. Recent findings suggest that beavers have moved into Arctic tundra regions and are controlling surface water dynamics, which strongly influence permafrost and landscape stability. Here we use 70 years of satellite images and aerial photography to show the scale and magnitude of northwestward beaver expansion in Alaska, indicated by the construction of over 10,000 beaver ponds in the Arctic tundra. The number of beaver ponds doubled in most areas between ~ 2003 and ~ 2017. Earlier stages of beaver engineering are evident in ~ 1980 imagery, and there is no evidence of beaver engineering in ~ 1952 imagery, consistent with observations from Indigenous communities describing the influx of beavers over the period. Rapidly expanding beaver engineering has created a tundra disturbance regime that appears to be thawing permafrost and exacerbating the effects of climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ken D Tape
- Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA.
| | - Jason A Clark
- Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA
| | - Benjamin M Jones
- Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA
| | | | - Benjamin V Gaglioti
- Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA
| | - Guido Grosse
- Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Alfred Wegener Institute, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Ingmar Nitze
- Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Alfred Wegener Institute, Potsdam, Germany
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Blanchet CC, Arzel C, Davranche A, Kahilainen KK, Secondi J, Taipale S, Lindberg H, Loehr J, Manninen-Johansen S, Sundell J, Maanan M, Nummi P. Ecology and extent of freshwater browning - What we know and what should be studied next in the context of global change. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 812:152420. [PMID: 34953836 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Water browning or brownification refers to increasing water color, often related to increasing dissolved organic matter (DOM) and carbon (DOC) content in freshwaters. Browning has been recognized as a significant physicochemical phenomenon altering boreal lakes, but our understanding of its ecological consequences in different freshwater habitats and regions is limited. Here, we review the consequences of browning on different freshwater habitats, food webs and aquatic-terrestrial habitat coupling. We examine global trends of browning and DOM/DOC, and the use of remote sensing as a tool to investigate browning from local to global scales. Studies have focused on lakes and rivers while seldom addressing effects at the catchment scale. Other freshwater habitats such as small and temporary waterbodies have been overlooked, making the study of the entire network of the catchment incomplete. While past research investigated the response of primary producers, aquatic invertebrates and fishes, the effects of browning on macrophytes, invasive species, and food webs have been understudied. Research has focused on freshwater habitats without considering the fluxes between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. We highlight the importance of understanding how the changes in one habitat may cascade to another. Browning is a broader phenomenon than the heretofore concentration on the boreal region. Overall, we propose that future studies improve the ecological understanding of browning through the following research actions: 1) increasing our knowledge of ecological processes of browning in other wetland types than lakes and rivers, 2) assessing the impact of browning on aquatic food webs at multiple scales, 3) examining the effects of browning on aquatic-terrestrial habitat coupling, 4) expanding our knowledge of browning from the local to global scale, and 5) using remote sensing to examine browning and its ecological consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clarisse C Blanchet
- Department of Biology, FI-20014, University of Turku, Finland; Department of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 27, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Céline Arzel
- Department of Biology, FI-20014, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Aurélie Davranche
- CNRS UMR 6554 LETG, University of Angers, 2 Boulevard Lavoisier, FR-49000 Angers, France
| | - Kimmo K Kahilainen
- University of Helsinki, Lammi Biological Station, Pääjärventie 320, FI-16900 Lammi, Finland
| | - Jean Secondi
- University of Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 LEHNA, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France; Faculty of Sciences, University of Angers, F-49000 Angers, France
| | - Sami Taipale
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Henrik Lindberg
- HAMK University of Applied Sciences, Forestry Programme, Saarelantie 1, FI-16970 Evo, Finland
| | - John Loehr
- University of Helsinki, Lammi Biological Station, Pääjärventie 320, FI-16900 Lammi, Finland
| | | | - Janne Sundell
- University of Helsinki, Lammi Biological Station, Pääjärventie 320, FI-16900 Lammi, Finland
| | - Mohamed Maanan
- UMR CNRS 6554, University of Nantes, F-44000 Nantes, France
| | - Petri Nummi
- Department of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 27, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
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7
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Baron AAP, Dyck LT, Amjad H, Bragg J, Kroft E, Newson J, Oleson K, Casson NJ, North RL, Venkiteswaran JJ, Whitfield CJ. Differences in ebullitive methane release from small, shallow ponds present challenges for scaling. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 802:149685. [PMID: 34464805 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Small, shallow waterbodies are potentially important sites of greenhouse gas release to the atmosphere. The role of ebullition may be enhanced here relative to larger and deeper systems, due to their shallow water, but these features remain relatively infrequently studied in comparison to larger systems. Herein, we quantify ebullitive release of methane (CH4) in small shallow ponds in three regions of North America and investigate the role of potential drivers. Shallow ponds exhibited open-water season ebullitive CH4 release rates as high as 40 mmol m-2 d-1, higher than previously reported for similar systems. Ebullitive release of CH4 varied by four orders of magnitude across our 15 study sites, with differences in flux rates both within and between regions. What is less clear are the drivers responsible for these differences. There were few relationships between open water-season ebullitive flux and physicochemical characteristics, including organic matter, temperature, and sulphate. Temperature was only weakly related to ebullitive CH4 release across the study when considering all observation intervals. Only four individual sites exhibited significant relationships between temperature and ebullitive CH4 release. Other sites were unresponsive to temperature, and region-specific factors may play a role. There is some evidence that where surface water sulphate concentrations are high, CH4 production and release may be suppressed. Missouri sites (n = 5) had characteristically low ebullitive CH4 release; here bioturbation could be important. While this work greatly expands the number of open-water season ebullition rates for small and shallow ponds, more research is needed to disentangle the role of different drivers. Further investigation of the potential thresholding behaviour of sulphate as a control on ebullitive CH4 release in lentic systems is one such opportunity. What is clear, however, is that efforts to scale emissions (e.g., as a function of temperature) must be undertaken with caution.
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Affiliation(s)
- A A P Baron
- School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 3H5, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 3H5, Canada
| | - L T Dyck
- School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 3H5, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 3H5, Canada
| | - H Amjad
- Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9, Canada
| | - J Bragg
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States of America
| | - E Kroft
- Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9, Canada
| | - J Newson
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States of America
| | - K Oleson
- Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9, Canada
| | - N J Casson
- Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9, Canada
| | - R L North
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States of America
| | - J J Venkiteswaran
- Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5, Canada
| | - C J Whitfield
- School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 3H5, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 3H5, Canada.
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8
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Stoll NL, Westbrook CJ. Beaver dam capacity of Canada's boreal plain in response to environmental change. Sci Rep 2020; 10:16800. [PMID: 33033269 PMCID: PMC7546727 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73095-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental changes are altering the water cycle of Canada's boreal plain. Beaver dams are well known for increasing water storage and slowing flow through stream networks. For these reasons beavers are increasingly being included in climate change adaptation strategies. But, little work focuses on how environmental changes will affect dam building capacity along stream networks. Here we estimate the capacity of the stream network in Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada to support beaver dams under changing environmental conditions using a modelling approach. We show that at capacity, the park's stream network can support 24,690 beaver dams and hold between 8.2 and 12.8 million m3 of water in beaver ponds. Between 1991 and 2016 the park's vegetation composition shifted to less preferred beaver forage, which led to a 13% decrease in maximum dam capacity. We also found that dam capacity is sensitive to the size of regularly-occurring floods-doubling the 2-year flood reduces the park's dam capacity by 21%. The results show that the potential for beaver to offset some expected climatic-induced changes to the boreal water cycle is more complex than previously thought, as there is a feedback wherein dam capacity can be reduced by changing environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nichole-Lynn Stoll
- Department of Geography and Planning, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C8, Canada
| | - Cherie J Westbrook
- Department of Geography and Planning, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C8, Canada.
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9
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Thompson S, Vehkaoja M, Pellikka J, Nummi P. Ecosystem services provided by beaversCastorspp. Mamm Rev 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Stella Thompson
- Department of Forest Sciences University of Helsinki Latokartanonkaari 7 Helsinki00790 Finland
| | - Mia Vehkaoja
- Department of Forest Sciences University of Helsinki Latokartanonkaari 7 Helsinki00790 Finland
| | - Jani Pellikka
- Natural Resources Institute Finland Latokartanonkaari 9 Helsinki00790 Finland
| | - Petri Nummi
- Department of Forest Sciences University of Helsinki Latokartanonkaari 7 Helsinki00790 Finland
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10
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Nummi P, Liao W, Huet O, Scarpulla E, Sundell J. The beaver facilitates species richness and abundance of terrestrial and semi-aquatic mammals. Glob Ecol Conserv 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
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11
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Cazzolla Gatti R, Callaghan TV, Rozhkova-Timina I, Dudko A, Lim A, Vorobyev SN, Kirpotin SN, Pokrovsky OS. 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. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 644:1371-1379. [PMID: 30743849 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2018] [Revised: 07/03/2018] [Accepted: 07/03/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Several studies have reported significant emission of greenhouse gasses (GHG) from beaver dams, suggesting that ponds created by beavers are a net source of CO2 and CH4. However, most evidence come from studies conducted in North America (on Castor canadensis) without a parallel comparison with the Eurasian beaver's (Castor fiber) impacts and a critical consideration of the importance of the carbon deposition in dam sediments. The most abundant population of the Eurasian beaver lives in Russia, notably within the River Ob watershed in Western Siberia which is the second largest floodplain on Earth. Consequently, we assessed the holistic impact of Eurasian beavers on the multiple carbon pools in water and on other related biogeochemical parameters of the Ob's floodplain streams. We compared dammed and flowing streams in a floodplain of the middle course of the river. We found that beavers in western Siberia increase the stream emission of methane by about 15 times by building their dams. This is similar to what has been documented in North America. A new finding from the present study is that Siberian beavers facilitate 1) nutrient recycling by speeding up the nutrient release from particulate organic matter; and 2) carbon sequestration by increasing the amount of dissolved organic carbon. This carbon becomes in part recalcitrant when buried in sediments and is, therefore, removed from the short-term carbon cycle. These new results should be taken into consideration in river management and provide a further reason for the conservation and management of Eurasian Beavers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Terry V Callaghan
- Bio-Clim-Land Centre, Biological Institute, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia; Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Inna Rozhkova-Timina
- Bio-Clim-Land Centre, Biological Institute, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anastasia Dudko
- Department of Geoecology and Geochemistry, Institute of Natural Resources, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Artyom Lim
- Bio-Clim-Land Centre, Biological Institute, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Sergey N Vorobyev
- Bio-Clim-Land Centre, Biological Institute, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Sergey N Kirpotin
- Bio-Clim-Land Centre, Biological Institute, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Oleg S Pokrovsky
- GET UMR 5563 CNRS, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France; IEPS, Federal Centre for Integrated Arctic Research, 23 Naberezh Sev Dviny, 163000 Arkhangelsk, Russia
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12
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Willby NJ, Law A, Levanoni O, Foster G, Ecke F. Rewilding wetlands: beaver as agents of within-habitat heterogeneity and the responses of contrasting biota. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:rstb.2017.0444. [PMID: 30348871 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecosystem engineers can increase biodiversity by creating novel habitat supporting species that would otherwise be absent. Their more routine activities further influence the biota occupying engineered habitats. Beavers are well-known for transforming ecosystems through dam building and are therefore increasingly being used for habitat restoration, adaptation to climate extremes and in long-term rewilding. Abandoned beaver ponds (BP) develop into meadows or forested wetlands that differ fundamentally from other terrestrial habitats and thus increase landscape diversity. Active BP, by contrast, are superficially similar to other non-engineered shallow wetlands, but ongoing use and maintenance might affect how BP contribute to aquatic biodiversity. We explored the 'within-habitat' effect of an ecosystem engineer by comparing active BP in southern Sweden with coexisting other wetlands (OW), using sedentary (plants) and mobile (water beetles) organisms as indicators. BP differed predictably from OW in environmental characteristics and were more heterogeneous. BP supported more plant species at plot (+15%) and site (+33%) scales, and plant beta diversity, based on turnover between plots, was 17% higher than in OW, contributing to a significantly larger species pool in BP (+17%). Beetles were not differentiated between BP and OW based on diversity measures but were 26% more abundant in BP. Independent of habitat creation beaver are thus significant agents of within-habitat heterogeneity that differentiates BP from other standing water habitat; as an integral component of the rewilding of wetlands re-establishing beaver should benefit aquatic biodiversity across multiple scales.This article is part of the theme issue 'Trophic rewilding: consequences for ecosystems under global change'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nigel J Willby
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
| | - Alan Law
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
| | - Oded Levanoni
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7050, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Garth Foster
- Aquatic Coleoptera Conservation Trust, 3 Eglinton Terrace, Ayr KA7 1JJ, UK
| | - Frauke Ecke
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7050, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 90183 Umeå, Sweden
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13
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Nummi P, Vehkaoja M, Pumpanen J, Ojala A. Beavers affect carbon biogeochemistry: both short-term and long-term processes are involved. Mamm Rev 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Petri Nummi
- Department of Forest Sciences; University of Helsinki; P.O. Box 27 00014 Helsinki Finland
| | - Mia Vehkaoja
- Department of Forest Sciences; University of Helsinki; P.O. Box 27 00014 Helsinki Finland
| | - Jukka Pumpanen
- Department of Environmental Science; University of Eastern Finland; P.O. Box 1627 70211 Kuopio Finland
| | - Anne Ojala
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences; Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme; University of Helsinki; Niemenkatu 73 15140 Lahti Finland, and
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research; Forest Sciences; Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science; University of Helsinki; Helsinki Finland
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14
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Modeling intrinsic potential for beaver (Castor canadensis) habitat to inform restoration and climate change adaptation. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0192538. [PMID: 29489853 PMCID: PMC5831098 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2017] [Accepted: 01/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Through their dam-building activities and subsequent water storage, beaver have the potential to restore riparian ecosystems and offset some of the predicted effects of climate change by modulating streamflow. Thus, it is not surprising that reintroducing beaver to watersheds from which they have been extirpated is an often-used restoration and climate-adaptation strategy. Identifying sites for reintroduction, however, requires detailed information about habitat factors-information that is not often available at broad spatial scales. Here we explore the potential for beaver relocation throughout the Snohomish River Basin in Washington, USA with a model that identifies some of the basic building blocks of beaver habitat suitability and does so by relying solely on remotely sensed data. More specifically, we developed a generalized intrinsic potential model that draws on remotely sensed measures of stream gradient, stream width, and valley width to identify where beaver could become established if suitable vegetation were to be present. Thus, the model serves as a preliminary screening tool that can be applied over relatively large extents. We applied the model to 5,019 stream km and assessed the ability of the model to correctly predict beaver habitat by surveying for beavers in 352 stream reaches. To further assess the potential for relocation, we assessed land ownership, use, and land cover in the landscape surrounding stream reaches with varying levels of intrinsic potential. Model results showed that 33% of streams had moderate or high intrinsic potential for beaver habitat. We found that no site that was classified as having low intrinsic potential had any sign of beavers and that beaver were absent from nearly three quarters of potentially suitable sites, indicating that there are factors preventing the local population from occupying these areas. Of the riparian areas around streams with high intrinsic potential for beaver, 38% are on public lands and 17% are on large tracts of privately-owned timber land. Thus, although there are a large number of areas that could be suitable for relocation and restoration using beavers, current land use patterns may substantially limit feasibility in these areas.
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15
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Westbrook CJ, Cooper DJ, Anderson CB. Alteration of hydrogeomorphic processes by invasive beavers in southern South America. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2017; 574:183-190. [PMID: 27636003 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.09.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2016] [Revised: 09/06/2016] [Accepted: 09/07/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is an invasive species in southern Patagonia, introduced in 1946 as part of a program by the Argentine government to augment furbearers. Research focus has turned from inventorying the beaver's population and ecosystem impacts toward eradicating it from the region and restoring degraded areas. Successful restoration, however, requires a fuller determination of how beavers have altered physical landscape characteristics, and of what landscape features and biota need to be restored. Our goal was to identify changes to the physical landscape by invasive beaver. We analyzed channel and valley morphology in detail at one site in each of the three major forest zones occurring on the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego's main island. We also assessed 48 additional sites across the three forest biomes on the island to identify a broader range of aquatic habitat occupied and modified by beaver. Beaver build dams with Nothofagus tree branches on streams, which triggered mineral sediment accretion processes in the riparian zone, but not in ways consistent with the beaver meadow theory and only at a few sites. At the majority of sites, beavers actively excavated peat and mineral sediment, moved thousands of cubic meters of sediment within their occupied landscapes and used it to build dams. Beaver were also common in fen ecosystems where pond formation inundated and drowned peat forming mosses and sedges, and triggered a massive invasion of exotic plant species. Results highlight that restoration of fen ecosystems is a previously unrecognized but pressing and challenging restoration need in addition to reforestation of Nothofagus riparian forests. We recommend that decision-makers include the full ecosystem diversity of the Fuegian landscape in their beaver eradiation and ecosystem restoration plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cherie J Westbrook
- Department of Geography and Planning, and Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
| | - David J Cooper
- Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Christopher B Anderson
- Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET) and Institute of Polar Sciences, Environment & Natural Resources, Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
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Malison RL, Kuzishchin KV, Stanford JA. Do beaver dams reduce habitat connectivity and salmon productivity in expansive river floodplains? PeerJ 2016; 4:e2403. [PMID: 27635357 PMCID: PMC5012414 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2015] [Accepted: 08/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Beaver have expanded in their native habitats throughout the northern hemisphere in recent decades following reductions in trapping and reintroduction efforts. Beaver have the potential to strongly influence salmon populations in the side channels of large alluvial rivers by building dams that create pond complexes. Pond habitat may improve salmon productivity or the presence of dams may reduce productivity if dams limit habitat connectivity and inhibit fish passage. Our intent in this paper is to contrast the habitat use and production of juvenile salmon on expansive floodplains of two geomorphically similar salmon rivers: the Kol River in Kamchatka, Russia (no beavers) and the Kwethluk River in Alaska (abundant beavers), and thereby provide a case study on how beavers may influence salmonids in large floodplain rivers. We examined important rearing habitats in each floodplain, including springbrooks, beaver ponds, beaver-influenced springbrooks, and shallow shorelines of the river channel. Juvenile coho salmon dominated fish assemblages in all habitats in both rivers but other species were present. Salmon density was similar in all habitat types in the Kol, but in the Kwethluk coho and Chinook densities were 3–12× lower in mid- and late-successional beaver ponds than in springbrook and main channel habitats. In the Kol, coho condition (length: weight ratios) was similar among habitats, but Chinook condition was highest in orthofluvial springbrooks. In the Kwethluk, Chinook condition was similar among habitats, but coho condition was lowest in main channel versus other habitats (0.89 vs. 0.99–1.10). Densities of juvenile salmon were extremely low in beaver ponds located behind numerous dams in the orthofluvial zone of the Kwethluk River floodplain, whereas juvenile salmon were abundant in habitats throughout the entire floodplain in the Kol River. If beavers were not present on the Kwethluk, floodplain habitats would be fully interconnected and theoretically could produce 2× the biomass (between June–August, 1,174 vs. 667 kg) and rear 3× the number of salmon (370,000 vs. 140,000) compared to the existing condition with dams present. The highly productive Kol river produces an order of magnitude more salmon biomass and rears 40× the individuals compared to the Kwethluk. If beavers were introduced to the Kol River, we estimate that off-channel habitats would produce half as much biomass (2,705 vs. 5,404 kg) and 3× fewer individuals (1,482,346 vs. 4,856,956) owing to conversion of inter-connected, productive springbrooks into inaccessible pond complexes. We concluded that beaver dams may limit the total amount of floodplain habitat available for salmon rearing in the Kwethluk river and that the introduction of beavers to the Kol river could be detrimental to salmon populations. The introduction of beavers to other large alluvial rivers like those found in Kamchatka could have negative consequences for salmon production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel L Malison
- Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Polson, MT, United States; Current affiliation: Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Kirill V Kuzishchin
- Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Polson, MT, United States; Ichthyology Department, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Jack A Stanford
- Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana , Polson , MT , United States
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Stanley EH, Casson NJ, Christel ST, Crawford JT, Loken LC, Oliver SK. The ecology of methane in streams and rivers: patterns, controls, and global significance. ECOL MONOGR 2016. [DOI: 10.1890/15-1027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 255] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emily H. Stanley
- Center for Limnology University of Wisconsin 680 North Park Street Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Nora J. Casson
- Center for Limnology University of Wisconsin 680 North Park Street Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Samuel T. Christel
- Center for Limnology University of Wisconsin 680 North Park Street Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - John T. Crawford
- U.S. Geological Survey 3215 Marine Street Suite E127 Boulder Colorado 80303 USA
| | - Luke C. Loken
- Center for Limnology University of Wisconsin 680 North Park Street Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Samantha K. Oliver
- Center for Limnology University of Wisconsin 680 North Park Street Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
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Landscape-level impact and habitat factors associated with invasive beaver distribution in Tierra del Fuego. Biol Invasions 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-016-1110-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Painter KJ, Westbrook CJ, Hall BD, O'Driscoll NJ, Jardine TD. Effects of in-channel beaver impoundments on mercury bioaccumulation in Rocky Mountain stream food webs. Ecosphere 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/es15-00167.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Lazar JG, Addy K, Gold AJ, Groffman PM, McKinney RA, Kellogg DQ. Beaver Ponds: Resurgent Nitrogen Sinks for Rural Watersheds in the Northeastern United States. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY 2015; 44:1684-1693. [PMID: 26436285 DOI: 10.2134/jeq2014.12.0540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Beaver-created ponds and dams, on the rise in the northeastern United States, reshape headwater stream networks from extensive, free-flowing reaches to complexes of ponds, wetlands, and connecting streams. We examined seasonal and annual rates of nitrate transformations in three beaver ponds in Rhode Island under enriched nitrate-nitrogen (N) conditions through the use of N mass balance techniques on soil core mesocosm incubations. We recovered approximately 93% of the nitrate N from our mesocosm incubations. Of the added nitrate N, 22 to 39% was transformed during the course of the incubation. Denitrification had the highest rates of transformation (97-236 mg N m d), followed by assimilation into the organic soil N pool (41-93 mg N m d) and ammonium generation (11-14 mg N m d). Our denitrification rates exceeded those in several studies of freshwater ponds and wetlands; however, rates in those ecosystems may have been limited by low concentrations of nitrate. Assuming a density of 0.7 beaver ponds km of catchment area, we estimated that in nitrate-enriched watersheds, beaver pond denitrification can remove approximately 50 to 450 kg nitrate N km catchment area. In rural watersheds of southern New England with high N loading (i.e., 1000 kg km), denitrification from beaver ponds may remove 5 to 45% of watershed nitrate N loading. Beaver ponds represent a relatively new and substantial sink for watershed N if current beaver populations persist.
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