Exploring the effectiveness of using beaver as an aquatic ecosystem restoration tool

探索使用海狸作为水生生态系统恢复工具的有效性

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-05873
• 负责人: Westbrook, Cherie
• 金额: $ 2.33万
• 依托单位: University of Saskatchewan
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=711444
• 关键词: Exploring; effectiveness; using; beaver; aquatic

Beavers are known ecosystem engineers due to their ability to create, destroy and modify aquatic habitats. The beaver meadow formation theory is a conceptual framework that explains and predicts how beavers influence the physical processes that form stream valleys including the riparian zone. The meadow theory holds considerable promise in informing aquatic ecosystem restoration strategy owing to the theory's holistic description of ecosystem impacts of beaver activities and its power in predicting possible futures (successional pathways) post-beaver. Yet, key questions on how beaver plumb and shape aquatic ecosystems need answering in order to put beaver meadow formation theory to use in practice. What is the range of hydrologic and geomorphic functions that beavers mediate in aquatic environments? And, where can and cannot we use beavers as a viable restoration option? I propose to address these questions through studying how beaver shape and plumb aquatic ecosystems across the three sets of occupation histories: native, exotic, reintroduced. In their native habitat, field observations and experiments will be used to evaluate how and where beaver offer enhanced hydrologic resiliency in a region prone to floods and droughts, the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies. In their exotic habitat (fens in southern Patagonia), restoration experiments will be used to evaluate the scope and permanence of changes to hydrological processes and soil hydraulic properties. In their reintroduced habitat, we will determine whether beaver have triggered mineral sediment accretion processes in their occupied habitats and initiated the formation of beaver meadows. We will focus that research on streams in Scotland to which beaver were recently reintroduced after a 400 year absence. In all, the proposed research should yield new insights into the scope and permanence of the changes effected by their engineering capabilities. The insights gained through the research will help advance understanding of how to best work with organisms to best protect and restore aquatic ecosystem functions in degraded habitats. We expect the research will also provide concrete advice to environmental managers wanting to use beaver meadow formation theory to guide aquatic ecosystem restoration efforts. The proposed research involves extensive training of highly qualified personnel in the form of undergraduates through postdoctoral fellows. The planned training program will ready trainees to fill the demand for technical experts, innovators, leaders and influential researchers in Canada and beyond.

海狸由于能力创造，破坏和修改水生栖息地而成为已知的生态系统工程师。海狸草甸形成理论是一个概念框架，可以解释并预测海狸如何影响形成包括河岸区域的流谷的物理过程。草地理论在告知水生生态系统恢复策略方面具有巨大的希望，这是由于理论对海狸活动的生态系统影响及其在预测可能的未来（继任途径）后生态的力量的整体描述。然而，关于海狸铅和塑造水生生态系统如何需要回答才能使海狸草地形成理论在实践中使用的关键问题。海狸在水生环境中介导的水文和地貌功能的范围是什么？而且，我们不能在哪里和不能将海狸作为可行的修复选择？ 我建议通过研究如何在三组职业历史中研究海狸形状和水生生态系统：天然，异国情调，重新引入。在其本地栖息地中，将使用现场观测和实验来评估海狸在容易发生洪水和干旱地区（加拿大落基山脉的东部山坡）地区提供增强的水文弹性。在其异国栖息地（巴塔哥尼亚南部的Fens）中，将使用恢复实验来评估水文过程和土壤液压特性的变化的范围和永久性。在他们重新引入的栖息地中，我们将确定海狸是否触发了被占领栖息地的矿物沉积物积聚过程，并启动了海狸草地的形成。我们将重点关注苏格兰的溪流的研究，最近在400年缺席后重新引入了海狸。总的来说，拟议的研究应产生有关其工程能力所影响的变化范围和永久性的新见解。通过研究获得的见解将有助于促进如何最好地与生物体合作，以最好地保护和恢复退化栖息地中的水生生态系统功能。我们希望这项研究还将为希望使用Beaver Meadow形成理论的环境经理提供具体的建议，以指导水生生态系统恢复工作。拟议的研究涉及通过博士后研究员以本科生形式对高素质的人员进行广泛的培训。计划的培训计划将准备好受训者，以满足加拿大及其他地区技术专家，创新者，领导者和有影响力的研究人员的需求。