Cites

unknown, unknown. "Adept Adaptors and Eviromental Engineers ." Beaver. County of Chester, Pennsylvania , n.d. Web. 8 May 2012. <http://dsf.chesco.org/ccparks/cwp/view.asp?a=1554&q=626699>. 

Adaptations

Beavers adapt to winter by keeping fat in their tail as well as finding food and hiding it underwater so they have food in the winter. Their blood vessels provide heat and block the large amount of heat they lose in the winter. Winter is the hardest time for beavers to adapt to the environment.



In a habitat with water the beaver has a special membranes that help their eyes in cold temperatures, this membrane slides over the eye. Beavers also have a valve that closes in their nose and ears so that no water can get in. They will build dams or lodges so that they have somewhere to live when it gets real cold out or if it gets to hot out. When beavers leave their damn and move onto another area that area eventually becomes grassy land which will attract their predators. Their predators are raccoons, otters, and wading birds.

Beavers impact on the ecosystem

Beavers impact the ecosystem in both good and bad ways. Some positive ways that beavers help the ecosystem is by building their damn because it provides wetlands for a new ecosystem. This is also a good thing because the wetlands help slow down erosion as well as purify the water. When the beavers abandon their damns than that land becomes a grassy, woody area eventually, after the aquatic plants and shrubs take over that land and it gets enough shade than trees will grow.  However, a beaver damn also has a negative side when it slows down the stream, causes silt to build up than other species lose their homes, they also cause flooding in low areas. 

background information on beavers

     





        Beavers are the largest of all rodents in Maine, the adult weighs about 40-50 pounds but some beavers can weigh even more. Up to 85-90 pounds. The beaver is most active during winter time, usually during the months of September and October, because that is when they get ready for the winter season. They have to build their dams by chewing on trees to make large logs, branches as well as mud. They make damns to block streams and turn forests into big ponds which beavers really enjoy and it is also where they spend most of their time. A beavers home is called a lodge made out of branches and mud. They are built in the middle of a pond where beavers live and they have underwater entrances. If the beaver is in the middle of building their lodge and they get disturbed by a human being or another animal than they will not finish and will find a new spot to build their home. 



Beavers are nocturnal however, they are sometimes active during the day. They breed in February or March and do not have their kids for three months after. A beaver can have up to eight babies. The baby beavers will stay in the same lodge as their parents for about two years than they get sent out on their own where they than find a mate and build their own home. Beavers live up to 20 years old and can stay underwater for 15 minutes without coming up for air. 

They are found in North American (not Florida), Mexico, Northern parts of Canada, as well as the desert Southwest.