Beaver pond habitat characterization

Knowledge graph centered on Beaver pond habitat characterization with 70 nodes and 122 connections. Top connected: Bacteria, aquatic insects, Ambystoma, species diversity, Baetis.

Method synopsis

Multi-parameter assessment of beaver pond physical characteristics including area, depth, flow velocity, and beaver activity indicators to control for habitat differences in community analyses.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 9 papers using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — Animal-Driven Nutrient Supply Declines Relative to Ecosystem Nutrient Demand Along a Pond Hydroperiod Gradient (2021), Ecosystems. The protocol was originally introduced by Ecosystem engineering by beavers affects mayfly life histories (2011), Freshwater Biology. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Pond selection and characterization
   Selected 4 representative ponds in each of 3 hydroperiod classifications (permanent, semi-permanent, temporary) within the Mexican Cut Nature Preserve. Mapped ponds using Trimble GeoXT GPS units with <50 cm accuracy. Calculated pond areas using ESRI Arcmap 10. Measured hydroperiod duration, pond area, habitable littoral benthic area, sedge coverage, and sedge biomass. Recorded hydroperiods using WT-HR Mark 3 data loggers (TrueTrack).
   Quantities: 12 total ponds (4 permanent, 4 semi-permanent, 4 temporary). Permanent ponds: 2147±2167 m² area, semi-permanent: 455±360 m², temporary: 104±83 m²Duration: Ongoing hydroperiod monitoring, pond mapping conducted onceConditions: Subalpine ponds at 3560 m elevation in Colorado Rocky Mountains
   Equipment: Trimble GeoXT GPS units, ESRI Arcmap 10, WT-HR Mark 3 data loggers, TrueTrack
2. Sedge biomass estimation
   Estimated total area of sedge within each pond by measuring area of 3-20 sedge patches around pond perimeters, with number of estimates depending on pond size and sedge contiguousness. Randomly selected 0.01 m² areas in each pond and massed separately after drying for 48 h at 60°C to estimate senesced sedge biomass per m².
   Quantities: 3-20 sedge patches measured per pond, 0.01 m² sampling areas, 48 hours drying at 60°CDuration: 48 hour drying periodConditions: 60°C drying temperature

Typical Equipment

• Google Earth
• meter stick
• ping pong ball
• stopwatch

Output Measurements

• pond area
• water depth
• flow velocity
• beaver activity status
• trout presence

Papers Using This Protocol (10)

Species Studied With This Protocol