Collaborative Research: OPUS: Beavers as Boreal Ecosystem Engineers

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There is a critical need for ecologists and land managers to understand the potential magnitude, persistence, and ecosystem services of beaver landscape transformation. This OPUS proposal will integrate the results of four previous NSF awards relating to beaver ecosystem alteration, bringing the findings together into works that will analyze the dynamics of a beaver-altered landscape at Voyageurs National Park. The 86-year record of beaver landscape occupation and alteration documented from aerial photography and field work provides a unique perspective of the ecosystem effects and sustainability of beaver activity. The objective is to synthesize the vegetative, water, soil, and biogeochemical alterations associated with beaver impoundments. The aims are to produce a book based on the 37 articles that the researchers have published from prior NSF-funded research, and a monograph about beaver pond/meadow transitions in the landscape that combines datasets documenting beaver pond creation and changes with recent updates about beaver ponds and populations commissioned by the National Park Service. This project will also transfer the previously collected datasets from their current in-house data management system to a public open-format repository. The results of this project will inform other scientists and managers about the sustainability and long-term ecosystem effects of beaver activity that is still expanding in much of North America. Undergraduate researchers will be recruited from the newly-formed South Dakota State University chapter of SEEDS - Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability. This project will contribute to the training of a graduate student who is researching beaver pond sustainability under separate funding. The project will strengthen pedagogy as the researchers will use elements from this OPUS synthesis in an Ecosystem Ecology class. The National Park Service will publicize and help disseminate the resulting publications, and will also ensure that scientific findings are incorporated into interpretive programs, web and print media, wayside exhibits, and visitor centers to reach a wide and diverse audience. Finally, the project will benefit society by contributing to land management, both directly at Voyageurs National Park and indirectly at locations throughout the continent where beaver populations are expanding.