Looks like the BBC (which may just stand for Bring Back Castor!) is catching on to beaver fever. They launched this headline yesterday.
European beavers construct ideal habitats for bats
By Ella Davies Earth News reporter
Reintroduced beavers construct ideal habitats for bats, new research reveals.
By felling trees, beavers thin out the canopy, scientists have found, leaving fewer obstacles in the way of aerial-hunting bats as they pursue insects. Also, river-damming by beavers boosts the numbers of these insect prey by creating large waterlogged areas. Scientists say this study provides further evidence of beavers’ essential role in maintaining woodlands. In particular, aerial-hawking bats including common pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pipistrellus), Nathusius’ pipistrelles (Pipistrellus nathusii), soprano pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pygmaeus) and common noctules (Nyctalus noctula). “Bats are very skilled fliers, but those species who hawk prey in the air, cannot effectively hunt in a very dense forest,” says Mr Ciechanowski. Aerial-hawking bats hunt by echo-location, bouncing sound off their prey and listening for the echo, which identifies its location
What a fine start to an article! Thanks for the excellent read. Our sierra beaver friends sent me the original research which you can read here: Reintroduction of beavers may improve habitat quality for vespertilionid bats foraging in small river valleys (Ciechanowski et al., 2010) Of course, the news article does a pretty good summary. I especially liked this part
Mr Ciechanowski believes this study complements conservationist’s arguments that beavers are an essential or “keystone” species in woodland habitats. “It simply supports the idea of beaver reintroduction… not only for that magnificent animal itself, but also as a tool to restore habitats biologically depauperated by ourselves.”
Not only does the BBC here do a great job of spreading the ‘beaver gospel’, it also brings me a brand new word ‘depauperdate”! Dictionary.com tells me it means “Lacking in numbers or variety of species“ which is certainly something human development causes and beaver habitat cures. I shall keep this word and use it as often as possible!
If that isn’t a refreshing enough read for you check here for a lovely review of our beavers and their website on “Writing in the Raw“. Sarah Summerville of Unexpected Wildlife Refuge pointed it out to me this morning, and I’m always impressed when dial-up in the New Jersey woods catches something before Heidi-at-her-zippy-computer! This was quite a catch too, as the author (Melvin) gets every single detail of our beavers and their family correct and makes us sound fairly heroic. He is slightly off in suggesting that the drawing of a Clemson is less complicated than a Flexible lever or Castor Mastor (quite the opposite) but his point that flow devices are cheap and easy is well taken and well made. I can’t comment on the site or I would ask are you local? Do we know you? and how did you know about us? It’s fun that he mentioned my Crannog and ethnobotany post, though because I’m thinking that might (along with “don’t cause a nativity scene’‘) be amongst my favorite research posts ever. Anyway, thanks for the nod and please keep us in mind when you run across any beaver stories!
