Description
Book SynopsisBeavers can and do dramatically change the landscape. The beaver is a keystone speciestheir skills as foresters and engineers create and maintain ponds and wetlands that increase biodiversity, purify water, and prevent large-scale flooding. Biologists have long studied their daily and seasonal routines, family structures, and dispersal patterns. As human development encroaches into formerly wild areas, property owners and government authorities need new, nonlethal strategies for dealing with so-called nuisance beavers. At the same time, the complex behavior of beavers intrigues visitors at parks and other wildlife viewing sites because it is relatively easy to observe.
In an up-to-date, exhaustively illustrated, and comprehensive book on beaver biology and management, Dietland Müller-Schwarze gathers a wealth of scientific knowledge about both the North American and Eurasian beaver species. The Beaver is designed to satisfy the curiosity and answer the questions of anyone with
Trade Review
Among native North American mammals, none has had a more powerful influence on the history of North American than the beaver. Although the eclectic literature on the beaver is rich, it is scattered. This book is the first to provide a synthesis of that literature.... It discusses the biology of the beaver, its behavior, including building dams and canals, and population dynamics.... It is a major resource accessible to any interested reader. Illustrated with black-and-white photos and a colored photo insert, the book is a necessary addition to the shelves of wildlife, conservation ecology, natural history, and general libraries. Essential.
* Choice *
Anyone with an interest in observing the natural world would be hard pressed to come across evidence of beaver activity and not be filled with questions. What is the purpose of the elaborate dams that beavers build? How do beavers decide which trees to cut down? What effects do beavers have on other organisms' In this ambitious book, the authors attempt to answer these questions and more about the beaver.... It contains useful information for wildlife and land managers, mammalogists, ecologists, and anyone who has ever been curious about beavers and their effects on both landscapes and history.
-- Justin Wright * Quarterly Review of Biology *
Everybody in the wildlife field knows about beavers and how they modify their environment by building lodges and dams and by cutting trees for food. However, for most people, the knowledge of beaver ecology stops there, and until now, books on beaver ecology were either outdated or too popularized. Times have changed, and this book comes to the rescue of those who wish to gain much greater insights into beaver ecology and behavior without having to read piles of scientific literature.... This is helped further by 50 clear photographs of beavers and their environment.... Overall, this is a must-have book for the beaver enthusiast and wildlife manager, or even for the history buff wishing to better understand the animal that put North America on the map.
* Journal of Mammalogy *
This book takes a comprehensive look at the behavior, natural history, and ecology of the North American and Eurasian species of beaver.... For wild animal population managers, zoologists, and naturalists, this book presents practical advice regarding beaver management and shows how the species can be an important ally in the restoration efforts of the wetlands. An intriguing book that many will enjoy reading. Nicely done.
* Northeastern Naturalist *
Table of ContentsPreface
IntroductionPart I: The Organism
1. Now and Then: The Species, Including Fossils
2. Form, Weight, and Special Adaptations
3. Diving and Thermoregulation: From Land Mammal to Semiaquatic Design and Function
4. Energy BudgetPart II: Behavior
5. Families as Social Units
6. Communication by Scent and Sound
7. Infrastructure: Dams, Lodges, Trails, and Canals
8. Beaver Time
9. Food SelectionPart III: Populations
10. Reproduction, Development, and Life Expectancy
11. Population Densities and Dynamics
12. Finding a Home: DispersalPart IV: Ecology
13. Where They Live and Why: Habitat Requirements
14. Mortality and Predators
15. Parasites and Diseases
16. Maker of Landscapes: Creating Habitat for Plants, Animals, and PeoplePart V: Beaver and People: Conservation, Use, and Management
17. "Here before Christ": Fur Trade, the "Beaver Republic" (Hudson's Bay Company), and Fur Trapping Today
18. Reintroductions and Other Transplants
19. "Nuisance Beavers" Claim Their Land
20. Needed: An Ecosystems Engineer for Habitat Restoration and Other Services
21. Living with Beavers: Conservation and Proactive ManagementIndex
