The Density of Beaver, Castor canadensis, Activities along Camrose Creek, Alberta, within Differing Habitats and Management Intensity Levels

Abstract

Beaver (Castor canadensis) occupy a variety of habitats in North America, but prefer Aspen (Populus tremuloides) and willow (Salix spp.) for food and construction materials. Beaver landforms, such as dams, can cause many problems for landowners, resulting in varied management efforts, such as dam dismantling and Beaver removal. The goal of this study was to compare the density of Beaver activity along Camrose Creek, Alberta, among a variety of habitats and management intensities. Along this 35 km creek there were an average of 0.46 food caches/km, 0.57 lodges/km, and 3.06 dams/km (of which 1.66/km were altered by people and 1.40/km were unaltered). There were more caches, lodges, and unaltered dams in Trembling Aspen forests compared to other habitats. Areas with some management had more food caches and either altered or unaltered dams than areas with no management.