Abstract
The building activity of Canadian and European beavers has been analyzed in the north of European Russia (southern Karelia). The results show that, under similar orographic, edaphic, and hydrological conditions, both species build their lodges and dams with equal frequencies. It is concluded that the building activity of beavers is a response of these animals to specific features of their environment, rather than a species-specific manifestation of the building instinct.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Antipin, V.K. and Tokarev, P., Protection of bogs in Karelia, in Izuchenie bolotnykh ekosistem Fennoskandii: Tez. Sovetsko-Finlyandskogo simp. (Studies on Bog Ecosystems in Fennoscandia: Abstr. Sov.-Finn. Symp.), Petrozavodsk: Karel. Nauch. Tsentr Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1991, p. 82.
Collen, P. and Gibson, R.J., The general ecology of beavers (Castor spp.), as related to their influence on stream ecosystems and riparian habitats, and the subsequent effects on fish: A review, Rev. Fish Biol. Fisher., 2001, vol. 10, pp. 439–461.
Danilov, P.I., Results of surveying beaver settlements in central and southern Karelia, Nauchn. konf. po itogam rabot Instituta biologii Kar. fil. AN SSSR za 1961 g. (Sci. Conf. on the Results of Research at the Institute of Biology, Karelian Branch, USSR Acad. Sci., in 1961), Petrozavodsk, 1962, pp. 133–134.
Danilov, P.I., Acclimation and some ecological features of the Canadian beaver in Karelia, Ekologiya, 1972, no. 5, pp. 102–104.
Danilov, P.I., Canadian beaver reserve in Karelia: Current state and prospects, Tr. Voronezh. Gos. Zap., Voronezh, 1975, vol. 1, no. 21, pp. 105–113.
Danilov, P.I. and Kanshiev, V.Ya., Some morphological and ecological features of European and Canadian beavers in the northwestern Soviet Union, in Fauna i ekologiya ptits i mlekopitayushchikh Severo-Zapada SSSR (The Faunas and Ecology of Birds and Mammals in the Northwestern Soviet Union), Petrozavodsk, 1983a, pp. 109–122.
Danilov, P. and Kanshiev, V., The state of population and ecological characteristics of European (Castor fiber L.) and Canadian (Castor canadensis Kuh.) beavers in the northwestern USSR, Acta Zool. Fenn., Helsinki, 1983b, no. 174, pp. 95–97.
Danilov, P.I., Kanshiev, V.Ya., and Fyodorov, F.V., Rechnye bobry Evropeiskogo Severa Rossii (European Beavers in Northern European Russia), Moscow: Nauka, 2007.
Dezhkin, V.V., D’yakov, Yu.V., and Safonov, V.G., Bobr (The Beaver), Moscow: Agropromizdat, 1986.
D’yakov, Yu.V., Bobry evropeiskoi chasti Sovetskogo Soyuza (Beavers in the European Soviet Union), Moscow, 1975.
Ermala, A., Helminen, M., and Lahti. S., Some aspects of the occurrence, abundance and future of the Finnish beaver population, Suomen Riista, 1989, no. 35, p. 108.
Fustec, J., Lode, T., Le Jaques, D., and Cormier, J.-P., Colonization, riparian habitat selection, and home range size in a reintroduced population of European beavers in the Loire, Freshw. Biol., 2001, vol. 46, pp. 1361–1371.
Fustec, J., Cormier, J.-P., and Lode, T., Beaver lodge location on the upstream Loire River, C. R. Biol., 2003, vol. 326, pp. 192–199.
Gurnell, A.M., The hydrogeomorphological effects of beaver dam-building activity, Progr. Phys. Geogr., 1998, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 167–189.
Gurnell, J., Gurnell, A.M., Demeritt, D., et al., The feasibility and acceptability of reintroducing the European beaver to England, Natural England Commissioned Report NECR002, 2009.
Ivanov, P.D., The Canadian beaver in the Karelian Isthmus, Leningrad oblast, Tr. Voronezh. Gos. Zap., Voronezh, 1975, vol. 1, no. 21, pp. 114–120.
Kanshiev, V.Ya. The biology and prospects for economic use of beaver populations in northwestern Russia, Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Petrozavodsk, 1992.
Kevin, C.J., Ecological effects of the feeding and construction activities of the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) in Scotland: Implications for reintroduction, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Stirling, UK, 2006.
Konstantinov, V.K., Meliorativnaya entsiklopediya (Encyclopedia of Amelioration), vol. 2: Gidrolesomelioratsiya (Forest Hydromelioration), St. Petersburg: SPbNIILKh, 1999.
Lahti, S. and Helminen, M., The beavers Castor fiber (L.) and Castor canadensis (Kuhl.) in Finland, Acta Theriol., 1974, vol. 19, nos. 1–13, pp. 177–189.
Lavrov, L.S., Canadian beavers in Karelia, Okhota Okhotn. Khoz., 1965, no. 9, pp. 13–15.
Linnamies, O., Majavien esiintymisesta ja niiden aihenttamista vahingoista maassamme, Suomen Riista, 1956, vol. 10, pp. 63–86.
Pashchenko M.N. The role of the European beaver (Castor fiber L.) in small stream ecosystems of Leningrad and Novgorod oblasts, Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, St. Petersburg, 2005.
Resursy poverkhnostnykh vod SSSR (Surface Water Resources of the Soviet Union), vol. 2: Kareliya i Severo-Zapad (Karelia and the Northwestern Region), Vodogretskii, V.E, Ed., Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1972.
Sakovets, V.I., Germanova, N.I., and Matyushkin, V.A., Ekologicheskie aspekty gidrolesomelioratsii v Karelii (Ecological Aspects of Forest Hydromelioration in Karelia), Petrozavodsk: KarNTs RAN, 2000.
Segal’, A.N. and Orlova, S.A., The appearance of beavers in Karelia, Zool. Zh., 1961, vol. 40, no. 10, pp. 1580–1583.
Semenov, B.T., The European beaver in Arkhangelsk oblast, Tr. Vsesoyuzn. Nauchno-issled. Inst. Okhot. Promysla, Moscow, 1951, no. 2.
Semenov, B.T., The range of the European beaver and prospects for commercial use of beaver stocks in Arkhangelsk oblast, Tr. Voronezh. Gos. Zap., Voronezh, 1975, vol. 1, no. 21, pp. 90–98.
Solov’ev, V.A., Rechnoi bobr Evropeiskogo Severo-Vostoka (The European Beaver in Northeastern Europe), Leningrad: Leningr. Gos. Univ., 1991.
Velikanov, G.B., Konstantinov, V.K., Poroshin, A.A., and Savel’ev, O.A., Forest hydromelioration fund of Leningrad oblast: Current state and efficiency of forest drainage systems, Tr. St.-Peterb. Nauchno-issled. Inst. Lesn. Khoz., no. 2 (25): Povyshenie produktivnosti, ratsional’noe ispol’zovanie i okhrana zemel’ lesnogo fonda (Forest Reserves: Improvement of Productivity, Rational Management, and Protection), St. Petersburg, 2011, pp. 12–25.
Zavyalov, N.A., Settlement history, population dynamics and the ecology of beavers (Castor fiber L.) in the Darwin Reserve, in Restoring the European Beaver: 50 Years of Experience, Sjoberg, G. and Ball, J.P., Eds., Sofia: Pensoft, 2011, pp. 75–99
Zavyalov, N.A., Specific ecological features of beavers (Castor fiber) populating watersheds and initial links of the hydrographic network, Zool. Zh., 2012, vol. 91, no. 4, pp. 464–474.
Zurowski, W., Building activity of beavers, Acta Theriol., 1992, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 403–411.
Zurowski, W. and Kasperczyk, B., Characteristics of a European beaver population in the Suwalki Lakeland, Acta Theriol., 1986, vol. 31, no. 24, pp. 311–325.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © P.I. Danilov, F.V. Fyodorov, 2015, published in Ekologiya, 2015, No. 3, pp. 212–218.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Danilov, P.I., Fyodorov, F.V. Comparative characterization of the building activity of Canadian and European beavers in northern European Russia. Russ J Ecol 46, 272–278 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1067413615030029
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1067413615030029