Sweden has been doing a remarkably good job in beaver-research lately. It took them a while but they seem to be firmly on the beaver-train now. Just just look at this great thesis from Lovisa Hökby, a PhD student at SLU.
Beaver’s role in the spread of tularemia investigated: No increased risk found
Beaver dams have sometimes been identified as potential hotspots for pathogens and the spread of animal-borne diseases such as tularemia. But a new thesis from SLU clears the Swedish beavers of these suspicions. Beaver ponds do not pose a greater risk of disease transmission than other wetlands.
– Beavers build dams and create wetlands that promote biodiversity, but these same environments can also favour the spread of zoonotic diseases. Having now investigated and assessed the risks, we can see that beavers in Sweden do not appear to cause an increased spread of infection, says Lovisa Hökby, a PhD student at SLU and the author of the thesis.
One of the pathogens she has examined is the tularemia bacterium. It can be transmitted to humans via mosquitoes, which are often abundant in stagnant water and ponds. Whilst working on her thesis, Lovisa Hökby collected water samples from both beaver dams and other wetlands in Sweden. The water samples, along with tissue and faeces from beavers, were then tested for a total of 21 different infectious agents, known as pathogens. These included the bacterium that can cause tularemia.
Well what did she find?
– The results show that pathogens occurred at similar prevalences in wetlands regardless of whether there were beavers there or not. Nor do the beavers themselves appear to play a central role as host animals. Most of the beavers we examined tested negative for all pathogens, says Lovisa Hökby.
There you go. Beavers and their ponds do not cause or carry Tularemia any worse than any other wetlands. And in fact since there is greater diversity at beaver ponds and lots of things that eat mosquito larva they may actually reduce its prevalence.
Click on the link at the headline to read the rest of the article or if you want to hear more or participate in her dissertation defense.
Thanks Lovisa.
TIME FOR BEAVERS TO GET TO WORK.
I like to think the beavers were helpfully pointing out that materials have to be carefully selected
Beavers destroy sign warning about beavers
A sign installed to warn the public about damage caused by beavers has been destroyed by the beavers themselves, according to the Polish foresters who erected it.
The incident was reported in a post on social media by the forestry district of Lubliniec in southern Poland, which shared photos of the sign, which read “Warning! Damage caused by beavers”. The wooden post it was displayed on had been destroyed in an apparent beaver attack.
“We wanted to warn you about the potential consequences of beaver activity at the pond and the surrounding area – since beavers dig burrows under the road and fell trees near the pond – but the beavers didn’t want you to be warned, so…they cut down the oak post displaying the hazard notice,” wrote the foresters.
“So, if you are around the pond, please exercise caution; and if you spot a piece of wood sticking out of the ground that has been gnawed by beavers, just imagine there was a sign there reading ‘Warning! Damage caused by beavers’.”
Beavers were once almost hunted to extinction in Poland. By 1928, it was estimated that only 235 remained in the country. However, thanks to postwar efforts to reintroduce the animals into the Polish wilderness, the beaver population has grown and is currently estimated at around 150,000.
Ecologists note that beavers play an important role in tackling drought by retaining water through the dams they build. Those dams also create “oases of biodiversity”, notes the state water agency PGW WP.
However, the rodents can cause damage to roads, houses and farmland, which has led some to call for culls to keep beaver numbers down.
So well done and thoughtful. There’s really only one part I disagree with. I bet when you watch you will be able to guess what it is…
On the University of Washington Bothell campus, a family of beavers has transformed a restored urban wetland — and challenged the grounds team responsible for managing it. Follow one student’s investigation into how beavers reshape landscapes, support wetlands and help us withstand a changing climate.
A film by Kenny Katz
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