Beaver

• HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- IEC Pennsylvania, the state chapter of Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC), announced it is accepting applications Feb. 14-23 for its next electrical apprenticeship class which starts in September 2024.
• The program is registered with the U.S. Department of Labor and Pennsylvania Apprenticeship and Training Council.
• "Becoming an electrician provides excellent earning potential and demand for electricians is growing," said IEC Pennsylvania Apprenticeship Coordinator Kristi Wickard.
• IEC Pennsylvania also offers a state-registered pre-apprenticeship program for high school students and individuals who are interested in the electrical field.

• HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- IEC Pennsylvania, the state chapter of Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC), announced it is accepting applications Oct. 18-27 for its electrical apprenticeship class that starts in January.
• The program is registered with the U.S. Department of Labor and Pennsylvania Apprenticeship and Training Council.
• IEC Pennsylvania also offers a state-registered pre-apprenticeship program for high school students and individuals who are interested in the electrical field.
• To learn about IEC Pennsylvania membership, events, apprenticeship opportunities and continuing education programs, visit IECPennsylvania.org .

• Low cost, human-made river barriers, similar to those built by beavers, can protect communities at risk of flooding.
• Our new research has found that such natural barriers intentionally increase water levels upstream to slow down river flow.
• Not only does this protect communities further down the river from flooding, but it has other benefits too.

Slowing the flow

• But the exact extent to which the water flow was slowed down by one natural barrier, let alone 50 to 100 barriers, was unknown.
• We also did not understand how the flow changed for different types of storms and different river settings.
• We found that the barrier’s holes can become bigger due to the changing flow of the river.

The Corve catchment in Shropshire

• We gathered data from 105 natural flood barriers on a small Shropshire river to measure their effectiveness in holding back flood waters and to understand how natural flood barriers operate during a storm.
• This is where data from drone photographs are used to obtain accurate measurements of the topography in areas of river covered by trees and other vegetation.
• Catherine Wilson receives funding from the EPSRC, the Environment Agency, Shropshire Council, and Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.
• She received funding from Shropshire Council and Environment Agency to conduct this work.

• 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.