Ecological engineering and aquatic connectivity: A new perspective from beaver-modified wetlands

Freshwater Biology

Volumn 60, Issue 1, 2015, Pages 198-208

  Hood, Glynnis A ^a   Larson, David G ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA   (Canada)

Author keywords

Castor canadensis; Beaver channels; Ecosystem engineer; Isolated wetlands; Landscape connectivity

Indexed keywords

CASTOR CANADENSIS;

EID: 84914815431     PISSN: 00465070     EISSN: 13652427     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/fwb.12487     Document Type: Article

References (50)

1. Anderson N.L. (2013) Habitat use by the wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus LeConte, 1825) within pothole wetlands modified by beaver (Castor canadensis Kuhl, 1820) in east-central Alberta. MSc University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
2. Bárdossy A. & Schmidt F. (2002) GIS approach to scale issues of perimeter-based shape indices for drainage basins. Hydrological Sciences, 47, 931-942.
3. Berke S.K. (2010) Functional groups of ecosystem engineers: a proposed classification with comments on current issues. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 50, 147-157.
4. Berkenbusch K. & Rowden A.A. (2003) Ecosystem engineering - moving away from "just-so" stories. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 27, 67-73.
5. Bromley C.K. & Hood G.A. (2013) Beavers (Castor canadensis) facilitate early access by Canada geese (Branta canadensis) to nesting habitat and areas of open water in Canada's boreal wetlands. Mammalian Biology, 78, 73-77.
6. Brown M.B. & Forsythe A.B. (1974) Robust tests for equality of variances. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 69, 364-367.
7. Byers J.E., Cuddington K., Jones C.G., Talley T.S., Hastings A., Lambrinos J.G. et al. (2006) Using ecosystem engineers to restore ecological systems. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 21, 493-500.
8. Cuddington K., Wilson W.G. & Hastings A. (2009) Ecosystem engineers: feedback and population dynamics. American Naturalist, 173, 488-498.
9. Fath B.D., Scharler U.M., Ulanowicz R.E. & Hannon B. (2007) Ecological network analysis: network construction. Ecological Modelling, 208, 49-55.
10. Ferrell J.M., Murray B.A., Leopold D.J., Halpern A., Beland Rippke M., Godwin K.S. et al. (2010) Water-level regulation and coastal wetland vegetation in the upper St. Lawrence River: inferences from historical aerial imagery, seed banks, and Typha dynamics. Hydrobiologia, 647, 127-144.
11. Gilad E., von Hardenberg J., Provenzale A., Shachak M. & Meron E. (2007) A mathematical model of plants as ecosystem engineers. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 244, 680-691.
12. Gottesfeld A.S., Hassan M.A., Tunnicliffe J.F. & Poirier R.W. (2004) Sediment dispersion in salmon spawning streams: the influence of floods and salmon redd construction. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 40, 1071-1086.
13. Hansell M.H. (1993) The ecological impact of animal nests and burrows. Functional Ecology, 7, 5-12.
14. Hansson L.A., Brönmark C., Nilsson P.A. & Åbjörnsson K. (2005) Conflicting demands on wetland ecosystem services: nutrient retention, biodiversity or both? Freshwater Biology, 50, 705-714.
15. Hood G.A. & Bayley S.E. (2008a) Beaver (Castor canadensis) mitigate the effects of climate on the area of open water in boreal wetlands in western Canada. Biological Conservation, 141, 556-567.
16. Hood G.A. & Bayley S.E. (2008b) The effects of high ungulate densities on foraging choices by beaver (Castor canadensis) in the mixed-wood boreal forest. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 86, 484-496.
17. Hood G.A. & Larson D.G. (2014) Beaver-created habitat heterogeneity influences aquatic invertebrate assemblages in boreal Canada. Wetlands, 34, 19-29.
18. Ives R.I. (1942) The beaver-meadow complex. Journal of Geomorphology, 5, 191-203.
19. Johnston C.A. & Naiman R.J. (1987) Boundary dynamics at the aquatic-terrestrial interface: the influence of beaver and geomorphology. Landscape Ecology, 1, 47-57.
20. Jones C.G., Lawton J.H. & Shachak M. (1994) Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos, 69, 373-386.
21. Jones C.G., Lawton J.H. & Shachak M. (1997) Ecosystem engineering by organisms: why semantics matters. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 12, 275.
22. Junk W.J., Shuqing A., Finalyson C.M., Gopal B., Květ J., Mitchell S.A. et al. (2013) Current state of knowledge regarding the world's wetlands and their future under global climate change: a synthesis. Aquatic Sciences, 75, 151-167.
23. Levins R. (1969) Some demographic and genetic consequences of environmental heterogeneity for biological control. Bulletin of the Entomological Society of America, 15, 237-240.
24. McCarthy T.S., Ellery W.N., Ellery W.N. & Bloem A. (1998) Some observations on the geomorphological impact of hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius L.) in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. African Journal of Ecology, 36, 45-56.
25. Meadows P.S. & Meadows A. (1991) The environmental impact of burrowing animals and animal burrows. Clarendon Press, London.
26. Mermillod-Blondin F. (2011) The functional significance of bioturbidation and biodeposition on biogeochemical processes at the water-sediment interface in freshwater and marine ecosystems. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 30, 770-778.
27. Miller V.C. (1953). A quantitative geomorphic study of drainage basin characteristics in the Clinch Mountain area, Virginia and Tennessee. Office of Naval Research, Geography Branch, Project no. 389-042. Technical Report no. 3, pp. 1-30.
28. Mitchell P.A. (1990) Miquelon Lake. In Atlas of Alberta lakes. (Eds P.A. Mitchell & E.E. Prepas ). pp. 469-474. University of Alberta Press, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
29. Mitsch W.J. & Gosselink J.G. (2007) Wetlands, 4th edn. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
30. Moore J.W. (2006) Animal ecosystem engineers in streams. BioScience, 56, 237-246.
31. Naiman R.J. & Rodgers K.H. (1997) Large animals and system-level characteristics in river corridors. BioScience, 47, 521-529.
32. Nolet B.A. & Rosell F. (1998) Comeback of the beaver Castor fiber: an overview of old and new conservation problems. Biological Conservation, 83, 165-173.
33. Nummi P. & Holopainen S. (2014) Whole-community facilitation by beaver: ecosystem engineer increases waterbird diversity. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, doi:10.1002/aqc.2437.
34. Power M. (1997a) Ecosystem engineering by organisms: why semantics matters - reply. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 12, 275-276.
35. Power M. (1997b) Estimating impacts of a dominant detritivore in a neotropical stream. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 12, 47-49.
36. Power M.E., Tilman D., Estes J.A., Menge B.A., Bond W.J., Mills L.S. et al. (1996) Challenges in the quest for keystones. BioScience, 46, 609-620.
37. Pringle R.M. (2008) Elephants as agents of habitat creation for small vertebrates at the patch scale. Ecology, 89, 26-33.
38. Proulx S.R., Promislow D.E.L. & Phillips P.C. (2005) Network thinking in ecology and evolution. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 20, 345-353.
39. Reichman O.J. & Seabloom E.W. (2002) The role of pocket gophers as subterranean ecosystem engineers. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 17, 44-49.
40. Ruedemann R. & Schoonmaker W.J. (1938) Beaver dams as geologic agents. Science, 88, 523-525.
41. Rüegg J., Chaloner D.T., Levi P., Tank J.L., Tiegs S.D. & Lamberti G.A. (2012) Environmental variability and the ecological effects of spawning Pacific salmon on stream biofilm. Freshwater Biology, 57, 129-142.
42. Schindler D.W. & Donahue W.F. (2006) An impending water crisis in Canada's western prairie provinces. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA, 103, 7210-7216.
43. Shalk C.M. & Luhring T.M. (2010) Vagility of aquatic salamanders: implications for wetland connectivity. Journal of Herptology, 44, 104-109.
44. Smith D.W. & Peterson R.O. (1991) Behavior of beaver in lakes with varying water levels in northern Minnesota. Environmental Management, 15, 395-401.
45. StatSoft Inc. (2011). STATISTICA (data analysis software system), Version 10. www.statsoft.com.
46. Statzner B., Peltret O. & Tomanova S. (2003) Crayfish as geomorphic agents and ecosystem engineers: effect of a biomass gradient on baseflow and flood-induced transport of gravel and sand in experimental streams. Freshwater Biology, 48, 147-163.
47. Westbrook C.J., Cooper D.J. & Baker B.W. (2006) Beaver dams and overbank floods influence groundwater-surface water interactions of a Rocky Mountain riparian area. Water Resources Research, 42, W06406.
48. Wright J.P. (2009) Linking populations to landscapes: richness scenarios resulting from changes in the dynamics of an ecosystem engineer. Ecology, 90, 3418-3429.
49. Wright J.P. & Jones C.G. (2004) Predicting effects of ecosystem engineers on patch-scale species richness from primary productivity. Ecology, 85, 2071-2081.
50. Wright J.P. & Jones C.G. (2006) The concept of organisms as ecosystem engineers ten years on: progress, limitations, and challenges. BioScience, 56, 203-209.