How Beavers Evolved to Build Dams

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Published 2021-04-17
Beavers build dams to help create a deep pond of quiet water, where they then build their home or lodge. A beaver dam is a marvel of engineering that changes the surrounding landscape. But how did this behaviour evolve? And what were the selective pressures that led to the evolution of dam building?

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Reference:
Plint T, et al. Evolution of woodcutting behaviour in Early Pliocene beaver driven by consumption of woody plants. Sci Rep 2020;10:13111.

Credits:
Doug Jones - Nature Videos. vimeo.com/303939479
Doug Jones - Nature Videos. vimeo.com/364380916
James St. John. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daemonelix_burrows…

#beaver #beaverdam #evolution

All Comments (21)
  • Please like, comment and subscribe if you enjoy the video! Thanks for watching!
  • @cerberus6654
    Years ago I spent a summer in a cottage on it's own large lake up in Northern Ontario. There was a beaver dam at one end with a pretty big lodge nearby inhabited by one enormous beaver. I spent the first days paddling around in an old wooden canoe and trying to get close to the beaver, who didn't like that at all. Lots of slapping of the water with the tail if I got too near. Then one morning I got up and walked down to the edge of the lake and saw that the canoe, which I had pulled up onto the gravelly shore, had an almost perfectly circular hole gnawed out of the bottom.
  • Really appreciate the calm delivery and non-noisy editing, I feel like learning and new information is better received that way, you know... like in a classroom. Good work!
  • @aiyalidat
    Beavers are amazing creatures. Dam building alone is quite breathtaking when presented with all of the positive effects it has on the surrounding ecosystem. Marvelous.
  • @matrix91234
    Easy. The master builder deity gave them the power to engineer the forest : D
  • @rabidkoalaz
    The raw amount of fascinating information coupled with the narrator's soothing, calm voice is an unbelievably therapeutic combination.
  • @kimho5739
    Dam! Beavers are so fascinating. Really good video :)
  • @11matt11
    Fantastic video, and how you use youtube to perfection. 8 minutes of pure, interesting information, instead of a TV program which has a specific time period. Great work here.
  • @ryuuguu01
    Beavers will sometimes dig channels out from the pond giving safe ways to reach more trees. Their predators can't swim very well.
  • @Hyumanity
    Beavers are too cool! So happy you included that they get triggered by the sound of running water lol!
  • @eleSDSU
    2:23 Well, maybe there are more than two. Back in 1946 Canadians sent 10 beaver couples for a fauna enrichment experiment to Tierra del Fuego and they have been wreaking havoc ever since and at some point they are going to diverge from Castor Canadensis, if that hasn't already happened considering how we haven't been able to exterminate the pests.

    P.s.: If you ever feel like helping nature and get yourself a nice pelt at the same time, hop on up to Tierra del Fuego and get those dammed beavers.
  • @Narbris
    Your channel is great. Keep up the good work and I'm sure it will pay off. 👍
  • @VRSavior
    bear sized beavers would be fucking nuts i would never swim in canada again
  • @George-xb5ey
    Beavers are like construction workers of the animal kingdom
  • @chagu2667
    Great video. I loved the content, the visuals, and the delivery. I look forward to seeing more!