To many people, beavers are seen as a nuisance due to their quote-on-quote, “destructive” nature. However, did you know that biologists classify beavers as a keystone species?
Beaver ponds create wetlands, which are among the most biologically productive ecosystems in the world. They increase the plant, bird, and wildlife variety. They also improve the water quality and have the potential to raise salmon and trout populations. That means that beavers support thousands of other species. How is this possible? Beavers open up the tree canopy as they fell trees, allowing sunlight to reach the water. This sunlight triggers a lot of biological activity. Algae and aquatic plants grow in this sun-drenched and nutrient-rich water. The organic material supports tiny, microscopic organisms, which are consumed by multiple different invertebrates. These species become food for fish, birds, and other mammals. With the help of beaver ponds, an entire food chain is able to exist. In the short term, it may seem that beavers could cause potential harm to forests, but the truth is that in the long term, this is untrue. Many tree species can regrow after being cut down by beavers, and others rely on the rise and flow of water from dams to spread and germinate their seeds. Beavers also increase the amount of surface water in the forest, which reduces the likelihood of detrimental forest fires. Indeed, beavers have gained infamy for killing trees, but beaver dams also create very diverse habitats. Grasses, bushes, sedges, and saplings are able to grow around the perimeter of the pond, providing food and shelter for foraging animals. Beaver ponds are also attractive to multiple varieties of wildlife. Important game species such as duck, muskrat, mink, otter, and vulnerable fish such as rainbow smelt, steelhead, and salmon. Biodiversity is able to thrive due to beaver ponds. Not to mention beaver dams also provide protection for downstream spawning areas from sedimentation, creating cool, deep pools that help support salmon and trout populations. Beaver dams also improve water quality by functioning as natural sponges that store runoff water, slowly releasing it and reducing downstream flooding and erosion. Algae and plants that thrive in the pond help improve water quality by absorbing dissolved nutrients, processing wastes, and removing runoff toxins such as pesticides and fertilizers. While beavers are often regarded as pests, the truth is that there isn’t a species out there that better benefits watersheds. While they sometimes present challenges to humans, there are ways to live with beavers without disrupting the many benefits they provide to their habitats. Flow devices, for example, can control problematic flooding without removing the environmental rewards provided by beavers. Let’s take another look at the benefits of beavers:
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August 2022
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