Beavers are a Keystone Species. That
means the beaver builds a neighborhood for
other wildlife to use. As you earn the
charms for this bracelet you will learn how
it all happens.
A dam makes a pond of deep water that stays around even
when the stream gets dry. It traps dirt and leaves which
get broken up by tiny bugs and these little bugs get eaten
by bigger bugs.
Pretty soon there are tons of little fish coming to eat all
the bugs at the beaver pond, but fish aren’t the only things
that eat them. Can you think of some others?
Frogs use beaver ponds to lay eggs and find dinner. They rely on
beaver ponds when the stream dries up.
A pond turtle will come eat the little fish AND the frogs if he’s lucky
enough to catch them! They love to lay in the sun on the cut trees
from the beaver, and hide in the muddy water under their dams
and lodges for safety.
All those little fish turn into dinner for the bigger fish - beaver ponds
have more fish and more kinds of fish than other parts of the creek.
Salmon and trout are two kinds of fish that love beaver ponds.
Salmon jump right over beaver dams on their way to the sea.
Fish eating birds come to the pond but even the
birds that don’t eat fish depend on beaver ponds for nesting sites - when
beavers chew down trees they grow back with bushy secret spots that are
great cover for raising a family.
Otters and muskrats hang around beaver ponds because of all the
fish they can catch. Otters can’t dig their own homes to have their
babies so they love to use beaver lodges when the beavers move
out. Muskrats don’t wait for them to move out and sometimes have
an apartment right inside!
Now you know how beavers make a neighborhood and why they’re
so good for the water. Go to the linking station to get your charms
added to your bracelet. Maybe you can use it later to explain to
someone else what a keystone species is!