What makes beavers so interesting for researchers?

Beavers influence their habitat like no other wild animal through structural measures. A characteristic feature of these construction activities are so-called beaver dams in watercourses, which act as natural transverse structures individually or as cascades in the system. Beavers were considered to be almost extinct at the end of the 19th century due to intensive hunting, but the population has been recovering increasingly since the middle of the 20th century thanks to reintroduction and protection measures in a targeted manner (strictly protected species in Germany under the Federal Nature Conservation Act and the Habitats Directive). While beaver activity in natural habitats is largely viewed positively, conflicts are increasingly arising in anthropogenic environments.

This is where BIBOB comes in and attempts, among other things, to compare and quantify the positive and negative effects of beaver dams on a site-specific basis. Particular attention is paid to the hydraulic-hydrological effects of beaver dams on surface and groundwater conditions.