Beavers and wolverines in Northern Alberta are using industry-created borrow pits as homes and feeding grounds, according to a new study by University of Alberta ecologists.
Beavers and wolverines in Northern Alberta are using industry-created borrow pits as homes and feeding grounds, according to a new study by University of Alberta ecologists.
The research examined the relationship between local wildlife and borrow pits, which are industry-created sites where material such as soil, gravel, or sand has been dug up for road construction. The results show that when revegetated the sites provide homes for beavers, which in turn support the survival of wolverines.
“The borrow pits enhance habitats for a number of species of wildlife in the bogs of Northern Alberta,” said Mark Boyce, co-author on the paper, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, and Alberta Conservation Association Chair in Fisheries and Wildlife.
“The deep water and adjacent forage create excellent habitats for beavers. And wolverines thrive when beavers do. Not only do they prey on beavers, wolverines also have been shown to use beaver lodges as dens where they have their cubs.”
Read more at University of Alberta
Image: Beavers, like the one pictured here, are making their homes on sites of industry activity. (Image credit: A. Colton)
