Tundra be dammed: Beaver colonization of the Arctic

Global Change Biology
Ken D TapeGuido Grosse

Abstract

Increasing air temperatures are changing the arctic tundra biome. Permafrost is thawing, snow duration is decreasing, shrub vegetation is proliferating, and boreal wildlife is encroaching. Here we present evidence of the recent range expansion of North American beaver (Castor canadensis) into the Arctic, and consider how this ecosystem engineer might reshape the landscape, biodiversity, and ecosystem processes. We developed a remote sensing approach that maps formation and disappearance of ponds associated with beaver activity. Since 1999, 56 new beaver pond complexes were identified, indicating that beavers are colonizing a predominantly tundra region (18,293 km2 ) of northwest Alaska. It is unclear how improved tundra stream habitat, population rebound following overtrapping for furs, or other factors are contributing to beaver range expansion. We discuss rates and likely routes of tundra beaver colonization, as well as effects on permafrost, stream ice regimes, and freshwater and riparian habitat. Beaver ponds and associated hydrologic changes are thawing permafrost. Pond formation increases winter water temperatures in the pond and downstream, likely creating new and more varied aquatic habitat, but specific biological impl...Continue Reading

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Citations

Aug 7, 2019·Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·Patricio Javier Pereyra
Jun 13, 2019·Ambio·Christine CuylerBjørnar Ytrehus
Mar 9, 2019·Ecology and Evolution·Diane Christine Huebner, Marion Syndonia Bret-Harte
Jun 20, 2020·Ecology and Evolution·Isidro BarelaGuiming Wang
Sep 24, 2020·Nature Communications·Logan T BernerScott J Goetz
Oct 10, 2020·Scientific Reports·Nichole-Lynn Stoll, Cherie J Westbrook
Dec 16, 2020·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Agata BuchwalJeffrey M Welker
Dec 23, 2020·Ecology·Thomas W GlassKnut Kielland
Sep 4, 2020·Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America·Emily Fairfax, Andrew Whittle
Jul 22, 2021·Ecology·Sébastien Descamps, Hallvard Strøm

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