Furry Engineers: How Beavers Can Change an Entire Ecosystem

Abstract

Every living being plays an important role on our planet. Some species create and modify the environment for others. These species can be called ecosystem engineers. By interacting with the environment and altering it, ecosystem engineers create favorable conditions for many other species. Beavers are excellent examples of ecosystem engineers. Just by building their homes and dams, these rodents modify the environment and allow other plants and animals to live in rivers and lakes. In this article, we will understand some of the ecological functions that bevers develop, how they help other species and ecosystems, and despite how helpful they are, why we should not place them everywhere.