Beaver Ecology - How Beavers Support the Ecosystem Beavers play a very important role when it comes to supporting ecosystems, acting very much like engineers for healthy habitats. Beavers are well-recognized for their abilities to create structures such as dams and lodges, which they use as homes for themselves and their families. There are additional benefits to these dams. Beaver dams provide multiple environmental benefits for water recharge, water quality and even benefits for other wildlife. Wetlands created behind the beaver dam provide habitats for wildlife such as birds and amphibians. Beavers have the ability to directly influence resource availability for other species in their environment by physically reshaping it. Their dams help create and maintain wetlands, interconnecting water systems into streams and ponds, surrounding soil and the ground. Beaver dams and ponds can replenish groundwater and provide consistent water flow in streams, while beaver ponds can also improve water quality, store nutrients for plants, and reduce the erosion of stream banks. The water quality is improved downstream as beaver dams act as a natural filtration system by blocking pollutants from entering the waterway. This decrease in water pressure allows for sediments and nutrients from the soil to leak into the water, creating healthy, mineral-infused drinking water for the ecosystem. When beavers flood trees along the shoreline and remove trees to build dams, they’re making it possible for more plants to grow and extend the area of wetland habitats around the stream. These changes make it possible for more breeding habitats for birds, affecting the entire food chain by attracting insects that serve as food for other animals, who then in turn become food for more animals. Wetlands are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world, providing a myriad of resources such as food through fish and wildlife, timber and other resources. Beavers are vital to restoring and protecting wetlands by increasing the land’s resilience to climate by allowing vegetation to grow, increasing the availability of water, and recharging aquifers. Not only this, beavers can help mitigate the effects of drought because the water stored on the surface and absorbed into the subsurface of the land is preserved through the impoundment of water by beaver dams. This can help maintain streamflow during droughts and protect ecosystems from dry periods. Despite their reputation from some humans as being “pests”, beavers can help protect the land against potential flooding. Beaver dams help to minimize flood risk by slowing the flow of water, delaying and reducing peaks in flooding downstream. Beavers don’t only build dams, however. They also build lodges, which they use to store various materials and live. These lodges often become the homes of other wildlife, such as minks, muskrats and sometimes even river otters. They can even be a refuge for small fish or nesting homes for local birds, too.
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.