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SPOTLIGHT: PIONEERING BEAVERS
SPOTLIGHT: PIONEERING BEAVERS
Beavers readily capture our attention. We hold some fascination for furry aquatic rodents who chew down trees and saplings, construct their watery domain around them, and survive long winters with their family in island lodges. They remind us of people in certain ways. In the Arctic, devoid of trees, what do they eat and build with? When they modify their environment, what other things are affected, like fish and freshwater? How do those changes affect people living subsistence lifestyles?
Beaver engineering is an avenue to discuss the myriad changes that are occurring as the climate warms. Beaver engineering impacts nearly all aspects of lowland ecosystems in the Arctic, and the changes that their engineering induces seem to accelerate changes that are already underway due to climate warming. The stories below highlight some beaver research in the media.
Predicted Beaver Colonization of N. Alaska this Century
Predicted Beaver Colonization of N. Alaska this Century
Beaver Expansion: Problems and Opportunities
Beaver Expansion: Problems and Opportunities
Shrubs & Beavers in NW Canadian Arctic
Shrubs & Beavers in NW Canadian Arctic
Here, Yereth Rosen describes in Alaska Dispatch News how scientists (A-BON members!) documented the first beaver dams in the arctic tundra of NW Canada.
Jung, T.S., Frandsen, J., Gordon, D.C. and Mossop, D.H., 2016. Colonization of the Beaufort coastal plain by Beaver (Castor canadensis): a response to shrubification of the Tundra?. The Canadian Field-Naturalist, 130(4), pp.332-335.
Beavers & Fish in Canadian Arctic
Beavers & Fish in Canadian Arctic
Beavers engineering new Alaskan tundra (Science News)
Beavers engineering new Alaskan tundra (Science News)
Beavers: Book Release, Rosell
Beavers: Book Release, Rosell
Frank Rosell, a leading expert on beavers, has written a comprehensive and authoritative book on beaver ecology, available through Oxford Univ Press:
Beavers: Ecology, Behaviour, and Management
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/beavers-9780198835059?cc=us&lang=en&
Beavers & Permafrost (collection of news reports)
Beavers & Permafrost (collection of news reports)
https://iop.altmetric.com/details/84936312/news
This link contains >30 news reports in 7 languages about interactions between beavers and permafrost in the tundra. The reports were spurred by Jones et al. (2020):
Jones, B.M., Tape, K.D., Clark, J.A., Nitze, I., Grosse, G. and Disbrow, J., 2020. Increase in beaver dams controls surface water and thermokarst dynamics in an Arctic tundra region, Baldwin Peninsula, northwestern Alaska. Environmental Research Letters, 15(7), p.075005.
Local Observations (LEO Network)
Local Observations (LEO Network)
The Local Environmental Observers (LEO) Network is an online interactive map and repository for local environmental observations. Due to the importance of beavers in local communities, LEO is creating a portal to house beaver observations related to A-BON.
Agents of Destruction (New York Times)
Agents of Destruction (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/climate/arctic-beavers-alaska.html
We prefer to think of beavers as agents of CONstruction (or disturbance), but the NYT was thinking about permafrost degradation, hence the title. Based on early detection of beaver ponds in the Alaska tundra:
Tape, K.D., Jones, B.M., Arp, C.D., Nitze, I. and Grosse, G., 2018. Tundra be dammed: Beaver colonization of the Arctic. Global change biology, 24(10), pp.4478-4488.
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