Journal Article

Landscape settlement and parameters of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) home ranges in the Czech Republic

Jana, Korbelová, Ondřej, Mikulka, Jiří, Kamler, Jakub, Drimaj, Miloslav, Homolka, Petr, Pyszko, Zdeněk, Patočka, Radim, Plhal

2023

Overview

Over the last few decades, the beaver has settled most of the European continent including the Czech Republic. Until recently, it was a species typically found in lowland floodplain forests. However, as the population grew, it began to spread into the agricultural landscape, where it has less favorable living conditions. In the Czech Republic, beavers were known to concentrate especially in large forest complexes; little information is so far available about their settlement of the agricultural landscape. At the same time, beaver management in the Czech Republic is applied according to zones with different levels of protection for this species; therefore, the assessment of beaver populations in different environmental conditions is essential. The article focuses on beaver population density, home range length, distribution, and dispersion in the four main types of environments, as well as on differences in food selection. Beaver population density is the highest in forest localities with small streams; the beaver finds the most suitable living conditions there. On average, the agricultural landscape is less populated. While population density in large rivers in the agricultural landscape is comparable to that in large rivers in the forest due to environmental conditions that can be similar, small streams in the agricultural landscape are inhabited 3.3 times less than small streams in forests because they are generally unsuitable environments with limited resources. The lengths of home ranges depend on the environment, the density of beavers, and especially on the availability of food resources. Likewise, the distances that beavers search for food differ, thus affecting their spatial activity.

• Publisher: Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Agricultural land / Aquatic mammals / Availability / Beavers / Castor fiber / Creeks & streams / Environmental conditions / Floodplains / Food / Food availability / Food resources / Food security / Food selection / Forests / Home range / Landscape / Living conditions / Population density / Protected species / Rivers