Effects of Reintroduced Beaver ('Castor canadensis') on Riparian Bird Community Structure Along the Upper San Pedro River, Southeastern Arizona and Northern Sonora, Mexico

摘要

We measured bird abundance and richness along the upper San Pedro River in 2005 and 2006 to investigate how beavers (Castor canadensis) may act as ecosystem engineers after reintroduction to a desert riparian area in the Southwestern United States. In areas where beavers colonized, we found higher bird abundance and richness of bird groups, such as all breeding birds, insectivorous birds, and riparian specialists, and higher relative abundance of many individual species, including several avian species of conservation concern.