INS 5-4 - Beavers of the past helping ecosystems of the present: time and population density drive scale-dependent patterns of ecosystem engineering

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM PDT

Location: 251

Presenting Author(s)

SJ

Sean Johnson-Bice

PhD Candidate
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Co-author(s)

TG

Thomas D. Gable, Ph.D.

Post-doctoral researcher
University of Minnesota, United States
SW

Steve K. Windels, Ph.D.

Wildlife Biologist
National Park Service, United States
GH

George E. Host, Ph.D.

Director of the Forest and Land Initiative (retired)
University of Minnesota Duluth

Beavers are ecosystem engineers renowned for their ability to create and maintain wetlands. In many systems, beaver works may persist for decades or more, leaving legacy effects that continue to influence ecosystem dynamics beyond the lifetime of beavers. Using aerial imagery acquired over seven decades, we explore how beaver engineering affects surface water dynamics across space and time in relation to beaver density and occupancy patterns in northern Minnesota, USA. We find beaver engineering stabilizes surface water dynamics, driven by density-dependent population dynamics, temporal changes in the size and number of beaver ponds, and legacy effects of abandoned ponds.