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- Title
Evidence of food-caching behavior in the American beaver (Castor canadensis) prior to and after pond drying in the San Pedro River, Arizona, USA.
- Authors
MERKLEY, STEVEN; EMANUELE, FRANK; CEBREROS, SERGIO; PEREZ, LLUVIA
- Abstract
After ~100 years of absence, beaver (Castor canadensis) were reintroduced to the San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona in 1999. Total streamflow in the San Pedro River has decreased during the past 90 years. We hypothesize that beaver under drought conditions may be limited in mobility due to low water and predation risk. Between 12 May and 16 June 2022, we used Reconyx Hyperfire 2 trail cameras to capture the behavior of beaver near a large dam on the San Pedro River. The site where the beaver built their dam has intermittent water flow and typically dries out every year during periods of low precipitation and high temperature. Beaver activity increased shortly before and after the pond dried out on 29 May 2022 (from 26 May to 31 May). We documented 7 separate occasions when beaver dragged large willow branches (~1 to 3 m long) with leaves away from the dam toward a presumed bank lodge. Beaver were only observed twice (both instances on 5 June) during the following 15 days of the study. This evidence suggests that beaver could stay in bank lodges during periods of low water flow, eating from their food caches. This unique caching behavior may be seen in beaver populations in desert climates or other drought-stressed environments. Mountain lions (Puma concolor) were observed at our study site before and after the pond dried, suggesting that this food-caching behavior has real value to the survival of beaver in the San Pedro River.
- Subjects
ARIZONA; BEAVERS; PUMAS; SCOUTING cameras; PONDS; HIGH temperatures; STREAMFLOW
- Publication
Western North American Naturalist, 2024, Vol 84, Issue 1, p145
- ISSN
1527-0904
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3398/064.084.0113