Table of Contents
Preface vii
Introduction xi
Part I The Organism
1 Now and Then: The Species, Including Fossils 2
2 Form, Weight, and Special Adaptations 11
3 Diving and Thermoregulation: From Land Mammal to Semiaquatic Design and Function 19
4 Energy Budget 24
Part II Behavior
5 Families as Social Units 30
6 Communication by Scent and Sound 39
7 Infrastructure: Dams, Lodges, Trails, and Canals 55
8 Beaver Time 64
9 Food Selection 68
Part III Populations
10 Reproduction, Development, and Life Expectancy 88
11 Population Densities and Dynamics 97
12 Finding a Home: Dispersal 110
Part IV Ecology
13 Where They Live and Why: Habitat Requirements 116
14 Mortality and Predators 123
15 Parasites and Diseases 129
16 Maker of Landscapes: Creating Habitat for Plants, Animals, and People 135
Part V Beaver and People: Conservation, Use, and Management
17 "Here before Christ": Fur Trade, the "Beaver Republic" (Hudson's Bay Company), and Fur Trapping Today 150
18 Reintroductions and Other Transplants 169
19 "Nuisance Beavers" Claim Their Land 178
20 Needed: An Ecosystems Engineer for Habitat Restoration and Other Services 184
21 Living with Beavers: Conservation and Proactive Management 191
Index 205