Beavers are the undiscovered engineers of the boreal forest

A large, flat-tailed rodent called the Canadian beaver (Castor canadensis), who also happens to be the emblem of our country.

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The ConversationThe Conversation
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https://theconversation.com/beavers-are-the-undiscovered-engineers-of-the-boreal-forest-201615https://theconversation.com/beavers-are-the-undiscovered-engineers-of-the-boreal-forest-201615
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Thursday, June 1, 2023
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Carbon, Gaps, North American beaver, Heart, Learning, Climate, Hair, Human, Headache, Diet, Coppicing, Method, UQAT, Tree, Isotope, Indigenous peoples, Research, Tail, History, Neck, Water supply, Science, Biodiversity, Neutron, Trapping, Climate change, Nature, Time, Love, Abies minor, Pond, Water, Liver, Knowledge, Ecology, Ecosystem, Beaver, Nitrogen, Family, Silviculture, Forestry, Dam, Hunting
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ABITIBI
Summary
Key Points: 
  • A large, flat-tailed rodent called the Canadian beaver (Castor canadensis), who also happens to be the emblem of our country.
  • This article is part of La Conversation Canada’s series The boreal forest: A thousand secrets, a thousand dangers La Conversation Canada invites you to take a virtual walk in the heart of the boreal forest.
  • The beaver is the only animal species, other than humans, that is capable of felling a mature tree.
  • In the boreal forest, it plays the role of an ecosystem engineer.

Disruptive agents who make their presence known

    • The beaver lives at the intersection of the aquatic and forest environments, so its presence increases interactions between these two ecosystems.
    • The beaver is also part and parcel of the natural disturbances that take place in the boreal forest.
    • Beaver constructions influence the structure of plant stands and shape the heterogeneity of the landscape.

Highly developed lodging

    • It prefers gently sloping land with a soft substrate where the water level is stable and the flow rate low.
    • For example, they will choose their lodge according to the location of seasonal resources present during the summer, such as aquatic plants, which they love.

We need to cut deeper

    • Spatial use of the territory (called the area of influence) could vary according to the food resources available.
    • It is also limited by the mobility of the animal and the threat of predators.
    • In order to study this use, we will attempt to reconstruct the pattern of occupation and alternation of lodges of several beaver colonies.
    • Because of the beaver’s neck and tail shape, researchers cannot use telemetric collars to track their movements with antennae.
    • Our research will also use stable isotopes in a hundred or so carcasses recovered from trappers in the Abitibi region.

An ally we shouldn’t scorn

    • Climate change shows us that the temperate forest is migrating northwards, leading to an increase in beaver habitats.
    • It is a serious ally in the fight against climate change, providing us with a more stable water supply over time.
    • Miguel Montoro Girona received funding from the MRC-Abitibi and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) - Discovery Grant to conduct this research.
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