When you think of aquatic mammals, it’s highly unlikely that beavers come immediately to mind. After all, these animals are relatively unassuming in appearance, and they’re not often the subject of documentaries with amazing footage. The truth though, is that beavers are capable of some pretty incredible feats; if you ever have the pleasure of encountering one while diving, you’ll find yourself completely spellbound. Let’s take a closer look.
How Beavers Contribute to Aquatic Ecosystems
The beaver is a large, semi-aquatic rodent known for its ability to construct dams and canals from branches and large trees. These animals build nests, which are called lodges, inside their dams. They use the large, still ponds their dams create for storing huge heaps of sticks, which they feed on throughout the winter.
Beavers are actually keystone species since they create wetlands that many other species rely on, and next to human beings, they are the species that do the most to shape their own environments. Ecologists have recently coined a new term to describe beavers and other animals like them: Ecosystem engineers. A healthy watershed where beavers are present usually contains open, shallow streams, numerous ponds (both with and without current beaver activity,) wet and dry meadows, a complete network of wetlands, and forests in various stages of growth. Beavers and the work they do are absolutely key to biodiversity in freshwater environments. Scientists studying beavers in Minnesota discovered that when beavers returned to an area where they had previously been absent, the landscape was transformed into 32 different biome types.
Recently, a pair of young beavers helped to contain a large diesel spill in Utah’s Willard Bay State Park after an eight-inch Chevron pipeline broke, causing between 4,200 and 6,300 gallons of diesel fuel to leak out into the environment. Willard Bay is located atop the Great Salt Lake flood plain near Ogden; it comprises almost 10,000 acres of freshwater and supports wildlife as well as several fish species. The beavers’ dams helped to slow the flow of the fuel spill and kept it out of the main bay area. Without the beaver dams, this spill may have had catastrophic consequences. The beavers were treated for injuries sustained in the spill; as their home was destroyed by the fuel spill, they needed to be relocated to a different area.
In the event you get the opportunity to dive a beaver pond, be sure to use careful finning techniques and move very slowly throughout the water as there are a couple of hazards to be aware of. First, beaver dams collect sediment. The closer you get to the dam structure, the more likely you’ll be to kick up sediment if you are not cautious. The second hazard involves the dam structure and the feed piles nearby. Keep some distance from the structures as it is possible to become snagged. Stay quiet and observe the beavers; you’ll enjoy their graceful, acrobatic maneuvers underwater, which are so much different from their somewhat awkward movements on land. Beavers do slap their tails on the surface of the water when agitated, and they’ll swim away if bothered.
One great site for encountering beavers and other freshwater aquatic life including sunfish, bass, and big Northern Pike is Huntington Mine Pit Lake located near Crosby, MN. As beaver numbers increase, your chances of encountering them at freshwater sites throughout North America and Europe increase, too. One look at these marvelous little animals and their underwater engineering projects, and you’ll be hooked!