- We discuss one of the world’s most overlooked keystone species, the beaver, on this episode of the Mongabay Newscast.
- Environmental journalist and writer Ben Goldbarb is a big proponent of giving beavers far more attention than they’re paid. His latest book is fittingly called Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter.
- Today, the North American beaver population is on the rebound thanks to conservationists who are helping bring this keystone species back to habitat across the continent. Goldfarb tells us all about these efforts and just why beavers’ role as “ecosystem engineers” is so crucial.
We discuss one of the world’s most overlooked keystone species, the beaver, on this episode of the Mongabay Newscast.
Listen here:
Most of us might not think of beavers as being a particularly remarkable animal, but these rodents are actually brilliant ecosystem-engineers whose value cannot be overstated. They help mitigate flooding, improve water quality, and capture more water for agriculture in the face of climate change. They also help provide habitat for species like salmon and can trap polluted sediments in rivers.
Environmental journalist and writer Ben Goldbarb is a big proponent of giving beavers far more attention than they’re paid. His latest book is fittingly called Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter.
“To me I think the remarkable thing about beavers is that, in a lot of ways, they’re the species that most resembles human beings,” Goldfarb says. “You know, we’re these incredibly meddlesome primates, right? We love building roads, and towns, and farms. We modify our environment to kind of suit our food and shelter needs, and beavers do the exact same thing. Beavers are building dams, creating these ponds and wetlands, basically increasing the extent of their own watery habitat and in so doing, in creating ponds and wetlands, they’re also creating habitat for countless other species, as well.”
There were once as many as 400 million beavers in North America, but by 1900 fur trapping had reduced their numbers to just 100,000. Today, the North American beaver population is on the rebound thanks to conservationists who are helping bring this keystone species back to habitat across the continent. Goldfarb tells us all about these efforts and just why beavers’ role as “ecosystem engineers” is so crucial.
Here’s this episode’s top news:
- Deforestation skyrockets in the Amazon rainforest
- Number of murdered environmental activists rose once again in 2017
- 2700 scientists issue call to action on border wall wildlife threat
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