Rio Grande Beaver Survey In Big Bend National Park

In 2015, beaver populations in Big Bend Park were surveyed.The paper is printed below. According to the authors:

“Beaver create and modify their habitat by building dams. These dams exert such a strong influence on aquatic and riparian communities that the beaver is considered a keystone species.

We delineated a total of 98 active beaver colonies in the study area, occupying deeper pools along the Rio Grande.

We estimated a population of 185 beavers occupying the 98 colonies. This represents a 38% increase in the beaver population along the Rio Grande since 1981.”

A thesis submitted to the Graduate Council of Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science with a Major in Wildlife Ecology – May 2015