Beaver Report

Shauna North
Ms. Overly
Science Pd.4
May 19, 2008
The Beaver

The Beaver

Beavers are gentle organisms whose scientific name is Castor Candensis. Beavers are a keystone species because without them, the entire ecosystem around them will die. Beavers construct a rich habitat for many members in its community including fish, turtles, frogs, mammal, and ducks. By damming up streams, beavers create wetlands, providing other organisms with a home filled with rich vegetation and shelter. In America, nearly half of all endangered species depend on wetlands for survival. This is another reason why the survival of the beaver is crucial to the survival of other organisms that rely upon wetlands. In addition to creating wetlands, beavers maintain them by preventing erosion, raising the water table, and purifying the water.
Mature male and female beavers mate for life. Once the parents have successfully built an adequate dam for themselves, the female begins creating a comfortable, soft area for their young. Mother beavers give birth to their kits once every year during the spring months. Within 24 hours after birth, the young kits are able to swim and explore the waters with their parents. Some of the adaptations that the beaver has obtained are its webbed feet to help propel them through the water, fir coated with castoreum oil that prevents the freezing water from reaching its skin, a large tail that helps keep them balanced while chopping down trees, and huge teeth that enable them to chop down trees to build their dams. The beaver is also equipped with anti-predator adaptations. When a beaver senses danger, it signals fellow beavers by slapping its tail against the water, warning them that there is a predator. Most of these traits are instinctive although some are learned.
The kits live with their parents until they are mating age, around three years old. Until that time, the kits are cared for by both their mother and their father. Adult beavers are capable of growing to over 60 pounds and more than four feet in length. Some beavers can live up to 20 years of age.
Beavers work hard throughout the year by pruning trees and maintaining their dams. Incidentally, the pruning stimulates the growth of the willows, aspens, and cottonwoods. The dams that they build offer them protection from predators and a safe place for them to reside during the winter months. Instead of having to live through cold, harsh winters, the beavers survive in their warm, sheltered dams that are stocked with plenty of food for the winter. The beavers live in colonies of six that usually consist of the parent, the yearlings, and the kits. They dwell peacefully in their dams for the winter ends.
The beaver has both a positive and a negative effect on the environment. They create wetlands which provide a prime environment for many organisms. The stagnant water is rich in nutrients that’s key to the growth of trees and other plants that supply birds and other animals with shelter. The down-side of the beaver’s residence is that they can cause the silt to build up and destroy certain animal’s habitat. The damming also can cause floods in low-lying areas. When I used to live on Fish Creek Road, the beavers would dam up the creek and cause our house to flood. The survival of beavers is vital to the success of many different organisms and their environment.

http://www.beaversww.org/beaver.html
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/beaver.htm
http://dnr.state.il.us/orc/wildlife/virtual_news/images/beaver/beaver_looking_camera.jpg

Observations #4

Today I started my observation early in the morning around 6:45 in hopes that the different time of day would allow for me to see different biodiversity. It was about 40 degrees and I thought that the cooler temperature would bring more species of birds out from there nests. The phrase "The early bird gets the worm" must be a religion for the birds in my area because there were massive amounts of birds flying around eating whatever that could get their little beaks around. Again, I was able to witness the birds swooping from the sky and snatching all types of large insects from the air. Lucky for me though, there were not as many bugs out as the previous days probably due to the cooler temperature. I am positive that I have not seen all of the different populations of birds that reside in my area. I know this because I hear about ten or more diverse types of chirps coming from the dense willows. Following up on my prediction in my second observation, I was correct. The green grass has almost completely taken over the dead grass from last season. The ecosystem seems to be lacking in abiotic factors. There are very few rocks and everything else seems to be full of life. The forget-me-nots that I talked about in my previous observation are growing like mad and are taking up the marshy area near the stream. I predict that in about a week or two, the forget-me-nots will be in full bloom. I still proved unsuccessful in my attempt to see the moose that continues to chew off the tops of the willows. This morning I also saw a butterfly. It was the first one I have seen since last summer. I believe that it was using camouflage as it's anti-predator adaptation because it was orange-ish and black which blends in almost completely with the color of the willows. Soon, I anticipate to start to spot some frogs and/or fish in the marshy stream. Well, I have to go spend the rest of this gorgeous day in school so.....

Observation #3

Today was an extraordinary day! It was an amazing 65 degrees at around 5:00pm and only slightly breezy. First off, I noticed that there weren't nearly as many birds as there were on my last visit. The only predictions that I make as to why this happened is because it could of been too hot or because they were off doing something else. Although there were not as many birds, there were still plenty for me to watch. Immediately upon my arrival I saw a large bird carrying a branch to the nest that it was constructing. The nest was craft fully put together in a willow tree. Speaking of willows, the green buds on the willows that I found in my last observation had morphed into green, fuzzy things. I continued to observe the vegetation that is rapidly changing in everyone of my visits, and I saw many forget-me-not flowers starting to grow along the wetlands. The soil that is rich in nutrients helps specially adapted plants such as the forget-me-not grow. I investigated in the willows for a while and realized that a moose had recently been there because it had eaten the tops of the willows. My hope is that I will be able to catch the moose that I keep seeing signs of during one of my future observations. I migrated towards the water and there were copious amounts of the bugs that skim along the surface of the water. I searched and searched by I was unable to spot a fish. I thought that with the stagnant water and the plentiful amounts of bugs that the fish would be out in full force. Apparently not. Maybe it is too early in the season for them or the do not like the water that I am studying. As for the bugs that fly around, they were getting gobbled up by birds like kids in a candy-store. I would look up and see a bug in the air and all of the sudden, a bird would come from nowhere and snatch the bug into its beak with impressive skill. I also saw birds (mainly King Fishers) feasting on the bright green allege. This all reminded me of how the food web works. The bugs eat little particles in the water and leaves, the birds eat the bugs and the allege, fish eat the allege, big birds eat the fish, and so on. I was lucky enough to see the bright yellow bird again today and I think it is probably a yellow warbler. Despite the gorgeous day it was outside, I had to get home, but as I was leaving I saw the weird fuzzing things that come off of the aspen trees. From my previous knowledge, I know that these turn purple-ish when they get wet and after a while they turn into a cotton-like substance which I might add that I am highly allergic to. I believe that this is the aspen's way of spreading it's seeds in order for it to reproduce.

Observation #2

On my second observation, the thin layer of snow that covered the area in my first observation was melted and I was able to sit and observe all of the interesting things that took place around me. The first thing I noticed when I arrived was a pile of fresh moose scat that was not there the last time I visited the area. There was also some other scat that I was unable to identify(for all I know, it could have belonged to a dog). As I navigated through the dense willow towards the water, I was suddenly inundated with hundreds of bugs (probably mosquitoes) swarming my head. While I was pushing away branches, I noticed that all of the willows had green buds on them that leads me to believe that they will eventually bloom into something. There was also new green grass sprouting up from underneath the old grass that I am assuming will eventually completely take over the dead grass in the near future. I was able to witness two ducks on a little grassy island in the middle of the creek before I accidentally scared them and they flew off making honking noises. Since I had arrived, I had been hearing what seemed like hundreds of different species of birds chirping away. It was like being in a giant bird store! I tried to meander my way around the trees along the creek to find something interesting, but all it seemed like I was doing was disturbing all of the birds. After relentless attempts at trying to catch a glimpse of something really cool, I resorted to just sitting and observing which proved to be way more interesting than I had thought it would have been. By sitting and watching I was able to see some of the most amazing birds I have ever seen in my entire life. At first I only saw lots of little gray birds, but as I looked closer I started to see birds that were all black with a bright yellow stripe around there chest. I saw several black birds and robins and all of the sudden, I saw this BRIGHT, BRIGHT blue bird. It was bluer than any bird I have ever seen. Looking closer at it I saw what I thought was a piece the yellow caution tape that police use at crime scenes, but it turned out to be an almost neon yellow colored bird! They looked like parakeets they were so bright. I continued to listen to the amazing variety of bird chirps for a little while longer and I was able to distinguish the clicking-like sound of a wood-pecker. Just as I was leaving, I saw several beginnings of bird nests that I will continue to monitor the progress of throughout my further observations.
Today, May 13, was a beautiful day with only one tiny cloud in the sky that I could see. I began my observation at 5:26pm. It was a decent 54 degrees and there was little to no wind.

Observation #1

My area is a wetland behind the post office in Wilson. A wetland is a land transitional between terristial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or where shallow water covers the land. Wetlands can also be refered to as marshes or swamps. Many types of organisms congregate around the wentlands including bevers, populations of birds, moose, muscrats, and much more. The moist soil also offers a prime place for all types of vegitation to thrive. I chose this area because I thought it would provide me with plenty of interesting ecology things to study!
In my observation today, May 10, it had just snowed the previous night so there was a light dusting of snow covering the ground. I visited my location at around 9:30am and it was 40 degrees. It was a fair day although it was slightly breezy, rather cold, and cloudy. The soil was frozen and covered in snow, but the soil in the area that I cleared of snow was very moist and swampy. In fact, the bottoms of my pants and my shoes were completly soaking by the time I had finished. I hypothisize that by my next observation, I will be able to see more signs of flowers begining to grow and blossum.
From previous knoledge and from my observations, I know that some of the plants that grow in my area include willows, pine trees, bog orchids, forget-me-nots, and lots of other vegitation that I was unable to identify. Some of the birds that I know that live in the area are a great blue heron, golden egles, yellow warblers, ducks, and robins. I saw and heared tons of birds flying around and fighting eachother for food. I think it was still to cold outside to see any fish, ducks, or other animals. I have decided to further study the beaver and the bog orchid.