Vertebrate Species Richness at Littoral Beaver Lodges in a Temperate Artificial Pond

The North American beaver Castor canadensis is widely recognized for its ability to modify freshwater habitats and facilitate changes in community composition. However, the seasonal composition of terrestrial wildlife at littoral beaver lodges remains poorly described, even though beaver lodges are...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of fish and wildlife management 2020-12, Vol.11 (2), p.422-429
Main Authors: Razik, Imran, Sagot, Maria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic habitats
Aquatic mammals
Artificial ponds
Castor canadensis
Community composition
Composition
Distribution
Environmental aspects
Foraging habitats
Freshwater environments
Littoral environments
Meteorological data
Natural history
Ponds
Seasonal variations
Species composition
Species richness
Terrestrial environments
Vertebrates
Weather
Wildlife
Wildlife habitats
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The North American beaver Castor canadensis is widely recognized for its ability to modify freshwater habitats and facilitate changes in community composition. However, the seasonal composition of terrestrial wildlife at littoral beaver lodges remains poorly described, even though beaver lodges are distinctive semipermanent features of the terrestrial–aquatic interface and thus important resources for wildlife. Over 17 months, we used camera trapping, weather data, and satellite vegetation data to determine how vertebrate species richness and seasonal changes in community composition are associated with beaver activity and beaver lodges in a temperate artificial pond. Our results indicate clear changes in the composition of beaver lodge visitors across seasons. Moreover, there was not a strong association of species richness with beaver activity, vegetative condition, or weather condition. Littoral beaver lodges are likely important foraging sites for a wide range of taxa throughout the year. Our findings highlight the importance of beaver lodges in facilitating seasonal interactions and variation in species composition. We hope our work can be used as a baseline to investigate the importance of beaver lodges in promoting diversity at the terrestrial–aquatic interface.
ISSN:1944-687X
1944-687X
DOI:10.3996/092019-JFWM-078