Factors Influencing Beaver Lodge-site Selection on a Prairie River

Dieter, Charles D.; McCabe, Thomas R.

doi:10.2307/2425928

Cited by 33 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Many of the physical variables studied (e.g., channel width, channel gradient, and area of watershed) were related to water conditions, which when combined with resource availability represent key factors in habitat suitability for beavers (Slough and Sadleir 1977;Howard and Larson 1985;Dieter and McCabe 1989;McComb et al 1990;Fustec et al 2001). Although the explanatory power of habitat variables changed during the colonization process.…”

Section: Initial Phases Of European Beaver Expansion Along the Moravamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies carried out on both beaver species European beaver C. fiber and North American beaver Castor canadensis mostly contain only data obtained during one season (Slough and Sadleir 1977;Beier and Barrett 1987;Dieter and McCabe 1989;McComb et al 1990;Robel et al 1993;Hartman 1996; Barnes and Mallik 1997;Suzuki and McComb 1998;Fustec et al 2001;Fustec et al 2003). Howard and Larson (1985), Broschart et al (1989), and Fryxell (2001) have all described habitat selection based on a longer period, however, but the research was conducted in study areas which were already occupied by beavers when the research began.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Habitat selection of an expanding beaver (Castor fiber) population in central and upper Morava River basin

2010

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Habitat selectivity by European beaver (Castor fiber L., 1758) was studied in 226 km of river channels during their colonization of the Morava River basin (the Czech Republic), which had not been occupied by beavers for hundreds of years. The colonization started after initial reintroductions in 1991 and 1992. Annual increases in colonization of the river system from 1995 to 2007 were 15.5±9.4 SD km year −1 and varied greatly between these years (min 0 km, max 33 km). Beavers appeared to be following a dispersal pattern, in which distant sites are often colonized before close-by sites. The selection of habitat variables during the colonization process varied. In the early phase of colonization, there were many areas with optimal habitat that were not occupied by beavers, and habitat selection appeared chaotic. After this early phase, the most significant habitat variable related to beaver occupation was shown to be the presence of willow (Salix spp.) species. In the later phases, the beaver population expanded into suboptimal habitat. Settlement distance from roads, railways, and urbanized areas became less. When comparing the generalized linear models, a model from the winter of 2003/2004 had the best overall accuracy and showed excellent agreement among observed and fitted values (Cohen's κ=0.75). The model suggests that beavers established their home ranges at first in optimal habitat, which had not been occupied before and then subsequently in suboptimal/marginal areas.

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Section: Initial Phases Of European Beaver Expansion Along the Moravamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat selection of an expanding beaver (Castor fiber) population in central and upper Morava River basin

2010

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“…Dieter and McCabe, 1989;Schooley et al, 1994). Few studies have described within-den behaviors for otherwise intensively researched denning species, and even rarer are studies that characterize seasonal patterns of within-den behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal, diel, and ontogenetic patterns of within-den behavior in beavers (Castor canadensis)

2011

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a b s t r a c tDespite the ubiquity of denning as a natural history strategy among terrestrial vertebrates, little is known regarding basic patterns of within-den behavior, how such patterns are influenced by demographic and environmental parameters, or how within-den behavioral repertoires relate to activities performed in external environments. Den usage is believed to facilitate increased expression of behaviors that compromise fitness in external environments, though empirical data validating these assumptions are generally lacking. Relative isolation from external light cues within dens has been linked to temporal patterns of den use, yet few studies examine associations between photoperiod and rhythmicity strictly for within-den behavior. Also, for denning species with relatively equivalent parental investment, conclusions regarding sex-specific behavior have been equivocal, and no studies have examined potential segregation of parental activity within dens. We videorecorded 1506 h of within-den activity from 23 beaver (Castor canadensis) colonies and characterized behavioral patterns based on sex and age over daily and monthly intervals. Within-den time-activity budgets were equivalent among male and female adult beavers, with feeding, sleeping, allogrooming, and individual grooming accounting for more than 95% of all recorded behaviors. Behavioral repertoires within dens exhibited distinct seasonality and were influenced by temporal variation in external conditions associated with food availability, indicating linkages between activities within and outside of dens. Lastly, beaver age classes varied considerably in their associations between diel activity patterns and photoperiod, with adults and kits exhibiting single and multiple sleep-wake cycles, respectively.

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“…Beaver ponds were once ubiquitous across North American lotic systems and are currently returning to preEuropean settlement densities (Naiman et al, 1988;Foster et al, 2002;Cunningham et al, 2006). Predicting the location of beaver ponds in watersheds has been approached from a beaver food-resource perspective (Dieter & Mccabe, 1989) as well as a geomorphology perspective (Jakes et al, 2007). Results from those studies suggest that beavers primarily inhabit streams where discharge is low enough for a dam to be stable and adequate food resources are available.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the morphology of beaver ponds alter downstream ecosystems?

Fuller

Peckarsky

2011

Hydrobiologia

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Differences among lake morphologies often explain variation in characteristics of lentic ecosystems. Although beaver ponds also vary in morphology, previous studies have not examined the effects of such variation on downstream ecosystems. This study evaluated downstream effects of multiple beaver ponds in the Colorado Rocky Mountains during one low and one high-flow year. Beaver pond morphology was described as the natural log transformed ratio of beaver dam height (which determines hydraulic head) to pond surface area and related to pond spillover phytoplankton and characteristics of the ecosystem downstream (nutrient concentrations, limiting nutrients, periphyton, benthic organic matter (BOM), and benthic invertebrate consumers). Nitrate concentration increased systematically downstream of beaver ponds, but only in the low flow year when groundwater influences predominated. Effects of beaver ponds on soluble reactive phosphorus concentration depended on pond morphology, increasing downstream of small ponds with high dams, but only during the low-flow year. In situ experiments showed that neither beaver activity nor pond morphology predicted periphyton-limiting nutrients downstream. Both periphyton biomass and BOM decreased downstream of small ponds with high dams but pond morphology did not predict abundance of invertebrate grazers or detritus-feeding consumers. While suspension feeding invertebrates increased downstream from small ponds with high dams, variation in chlorophyll a from water spilling over beaver dams did not follow a similar pattern. We conclude that the effects of beaver ponds on downstream nutrients, resources and consumers are rarely systematic, but instead depend on variation in pond morphology and on annual hydrologic variation.

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Factors Influencing Beaver Lodge-site Selection on a Prairie River

Cited by 33 publications

References 6 publications

Habitat selection of an expanding beaver (Castor fiber) population in central and upper Morava River basin

Habitat selection of an expanding beaver (Castor fiber) population in central and upper Morava River basin

Seasonal, diel, and ontogenetic patterns of within-den behavior in beavers (Castor canadensis)

Does the morphology of beaver ponds alter downstream ecosystems?

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