{"product_id":"the-beaver-natural-history-of-a-wetlands-engineer-comstock-books-9780801440984","title":"The Beaver: Natural History of a Wetlands Engineer (Comstock books)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBeavers can and do dramatically change the landscape. The beaver is a keystone speciestheir skills as foresters and engineers create and maintain ponds and wetlands that increase biodiversity  purify water  and prevent large-scale flooding. Biologists have long studied their daily and seasonal routines  family structures  and dispersal patterns. As human development encroaches into formerly wild areas  property owners and government authorities need new  nonlethal strategies for dealing with so-called nuisance beavers. At the same time  the complex behavior of beavers intrigues visitors at parks and other wildlife viewing sites because it is relatively easy to observe.In an up-to-date  exhaustively illustrated  and comprehensive book on beaver biology and management  Dietland Mller-Schwarze and Lixing Sun gather a wealth of scientific knowledge about both the North American and Eurasian beaver species. The Beaver is designed to satisfy the curiosity and answer the questions of anyone with an interest in these animals  from students who enjoy watching beaver ponds at nature centers to homeowners who hope to protect their landscaping. Photographs taken by the authors document every aspect of beaver behavior and biology  the variety of their constructions  and the habitats that depend on their presence. Beaver facts:Just as individual beavers shape their immediate surroundings  so did the distribution of beavers across North America influence the paths of English and French explorers and traders. As a result of the fur trade  beavers were wiped out across large areas of the United States. Reintroduction efforts led to the widespread establishment of these resilient animals  and now they are found throughout North America  Europe  and parts of the southern hemisphere.Beaver meadows provided early settlers with level  fertile pastures and hayfields.Based on the fossil record  the smallest extinct beaver species were the size of a muskrat  and the largest may have reached the size of a black bear (five to six times as large as todays North American beavers). Beaver-gnawed wood has been found alongside the skeleton of a mastodon.Some beavers remain in the home lodge for an extra year to assist their parents in raising younger siblings. They feed  groom  and guard the newborn kits.In 1600  beaver ponds covered eleven percent of the upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers watershed above Thebes  Illinois. Restoring only 3 percent of the original wetlands might suffice to prevent catastrophic floods such as those in the early 1990s.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45276986114101,"sku":"ByrdShop_080144098X","price":242.65,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780801440984.jpg?v=1780568685","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-beaver-natural-history-of-a-wetlands-engineer-comstock-books-9780801440984","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}