Beaver Benefits

The fourth and final post about beavers from Intern Abbey White:

In ecological terms, beavers are known as keystone species because the aquatic ecosystems they engineer are home to many plants and animals. As the makers of dams that transform the landscape into an aquatic habitat, beavers heavily influence the populations of the surrounding wildlife. Beavers are known for drastically increasing species diversity around their dam because the concentrated water is a vital resource for all kinds of wildlife. In this way, dams aid in the survival of the flora and fauna that depend on aquatic, wetland, or riparian habitats for all or part of their life cycle.

Bird species, especially waterfowl and shorebirds, benefit greatly from the arrival of new food resources such as invertebrates and fish, making this new aquatic oasis an ideal home for both year-round residents and temporary migrants. The ponds and associated wetlands created by beavers function as ideal courtship areas for attracting mates, and the aquatic vegetation provide effective nest cover from predators.

We can already see a change in landscape at Lyman Woods. Before the water level rose during the April flood, reed canary grass, a highly invasive species, was prevalent in that area. Now, a few months later, much of the reed canary grass to the northeast of the boardwalk is gone. We've also noticed a larger aquatic and wading bird population in the area adjacent to the dam, including egrets, great blue herons and green herons. Even today when I visited the dam I saw a muskrat swim through the water and feed on the aquatic plants. Beaver activity is known to support mink, muskrat, and otter populations.

Even though it may be frustrating when a family of beavers sets up camp and makes a mess of things, beaver activity is beneficial to the surrounding wildlife. Having done a significant amount of research on the life of a beaver, I can definitively say that I have a great deal of respect for all the work beavers do, especially given their small size. This is the last installment of the Beaver Blog so I hope you’ve enjoyed learning some new things about beavers as much as I have in these past couple months! Although nothing can replace actually getting outside and observing nature firsthand, sitting at your computer reading about certain animal or opening up an ecology book is a great way to get acquainted with all of the fascinating things happening in the wild. But don’t stop there. Make sure you come visit us at Lyman Woods and see for yourself!