Beaver dam, why it is an essential for the thriving areas?

Beaver will keep on working on its dam mostly during the night. Photo: Twitter

Beaver is a nice cute creature with different functions in nature. While building its home, beaver's also creating a suitable environment for other creatures to flourish to form a complete ecosystem. Instead important to all of the animals, beaver dam also important for the environment, especially in drought control and also for the underground water supply.

Once, there are more than 60 millions of beaver in North American alone. Anyway, hunting for fur and the beaver glands make the number decreased to 6 to 12 million by 1988. There are long way to go to restore the number of beaver back to its original. While we can see the impact of drought, flooding, erosion,  and underground water shortage become more serious. This also decreasing the number's of plants and animals that thriving together with beaver dam.

There are 2 main types of beaver in the world.

The skulls of North American beaver and Eurasian beaver. Photo: wikipedia.

North American beaver (Castor canadensis) - this species can be found on the American continent. Where most of the beaver today are found in the North, mostly in Canada. That's where the largest beaver dam can be found today.  

Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) - compared to their American cousin's, Eurasian beaver was hunted nearly to extinction in Europe. The beaver was totally extinct in Great Britain in the sixteenth century. It was said that the total number of Eurasia beaver was 100 million had fallen to 1000. With beaver protection in over 24 European countries the number of Eurasian beaver now estimated to reach to 639,000 in mainland Europe.

Beaver lodges

The diagram of beaver lodge and their areas. Photo: wikipedia.

Other than creating the dam, beaver will also build their homes that called lodges. This dome-like home was constructed using branches and mud. The lodges often will located in the middle of the ponds and the entrances will be underwater. This lodge can be home to several extended families of monogamous parents. Sometimes there can be more than one lodges in the same beaver dam.

In the lodge there are separate areas for the beaver to drying themselves when coming out of the water and the drying area where the family lives. The dens also provided with ventilation to allow the air flows properly. Usually there will be another alternative entrance into the dens.

Foods

Beaver only eating the tree barks, leaves, small branches, twigs, roots and aquatic plants. So, it will leave other animals live in their pond. The thriving creatures from aquatic plants and animals will increase in number as long as the dam is maintained by the beaver's family. Increasing numbers of fishes and other animals will also attract migrating birds and other animals for foods and water. The beaver dam will allow beavers to reach its food source without exposing it to predators such as coyote, wild cat, bear or any other enemies.

Beaver never goes to hibernate during the winter season. It will keep enough food supplies in its' dent, for the rest of the family. Beavers eat leaves, roots and bark from aspens, willows, maples and poplar trees. They also eat aquatic plants.

Even though the beaver dam will increase the water level. The changes made by the beaver will never reach to the scales that produce by human (by creating a dam). In other words, it's not damaging, but instead, it's enrich the environment.

Important of beaver to Ecosystem

The different on the surrounding areas of beaver dam. Photo: eurekalert.org

Beaver dam helps other animal to flourish and create its own ecosystem. Besides, its water catchment area keeps the area rich with life. It will also protect the area from becoming too dry during drought season - as this problem has become more serious lately, include the shortage amount of underground water.

Beaver dam slows down the flow of water that can cause an erosion. The sediment rich pond will promote growth of water plants that also become the sanctuary of small creatures, allowing bigger animals also thrive in the same area. This water catchment will avoid the nutrient in the soils from directly wash into the sea and clogged the river delta that can also cause flooding.

In the long term, the beaver dam will enrich the nearby areas as you can see it in the photos. With the increasing of vegetation, it's not only avoid further erosion, but also increase the numbers of floras and faunas in the areas. With continuous water supply provided by the beaver dam, it further prevents the desertification of the areas.  

Biggest beaver dam

One of the beaver dam area. Photo: argentinaexplorationjourneys.com

So far the biggest beaver dam known to human measured, 850 m long in Alberta, Canada, is the world's biggest and can be seen from space. Beavers have been building the dam since 1975. The dam was constructed by the family of beaver from fewer generations. The beaver was known to live in groups of families.

This dam was located deep in the Wood Buffalo National Park that only realized by satellite image by a researcher. Even the ranger of the park are not aware of it existent when contacted by the BBC film crew, when they learned about the beaver dam from the researcher's website.

Link for the largest beaver dam in Google Map

People keep destroying beaver dam.

There are still many people destroying beaver dams for taking part of their land. The collapse between human and beaver can only be avoided by understanding how these creatures work in enriching the ecosystem. Without understanding how's nature's works we might be not only destroying important creatures but also ourselves.

World of Arts: Botanical Arts

Botanical paintings helps to recognize species of plant. Photo by: Işık Güner 

Perhaps one of the most popular form of arts. Not as popular as portrait paintings, but plays important roles in human advancement in scientific studies and medicine. Same at any other form of arts, botanical paintings evolved from thousand years ago. Anyway, they play different roles with the advancement of technologies. Today, we have better ways to record botanical specimen, and at the same time the botanical arts helps to deliver what the modern technology cannot do.

Botanical arts or paintings were used in order to recognize types of plants that can be used for medical purposes, or plants with commercial values such as herbs and spices. When the botanical knowledge getting larger, the botanical paintings/illustration helps to segregate plants into their family and species that also helped human to develop new crops that produce more yields or immune to some diseases.

Botanical paintings make plants, recording into work of arts. Photo by: Julia Trickey

Anna Mason one of the best botanical painters. Photo by: Anna Mason

Today, botanical artist can choose to fulfil all of these purposes. They have a broad range of purposes in delivering their arts. They can do botanical illustrator with high accuracy details, in order to help botanist to recognize plant species for recording purposes. They also can do botanical art to show their subject’s aesthetic value. This type of art is the best to medium as an introduction to those who never get exposed to botanical illustration or botanical art before. The last approach that artist can do is through flower painting, without accuracy. This creative approach just as any other painting by representing plants just by artist creativity and imagination.

No matter which types of approaches that you are working on, botanical art is one of the best ways to preserve the plant specimen. Today, botanical artists can produce higher accuracy illustration and arts with the use of higher quality materials. The artist’s hard work, then share for many other viewers, through publication and exhibition. This beautiful result not only works educational medium, but also as piece of art at the same time.

Botanical paintings sometimes included insects and other animals. Photo by: Angela Leck

Another wonderful botanical painter, Heidi Willis. Photo by: Heidi Willis

There are many botanical artists out there that sharing their knowledge through free and paid courses. You don’t have to be as good as the professional botanical artist to help recording the backyard’s specimens - just follow few important keys to make sure you are doing it right.

We will see some of the botanical artists that we can learn from their YouTube channel. Other than that, we also can learn from books or DVD’s we can buy through online. Visit the exhibition is another good practice to learn from other artist works. We will improve faster when learning from those who already mastered the fields.

Hopefully botanical arts will grows among all of us in order to collect botanical data from all over the world. Because plants change so fast (produce new species), without proper record, we might lose many important plants that important to our survival. Enjoy the nature, embrace their beauty.

Largest Living Bird: Greater Rhea

Greater Rhea (Rhea americana) also known as ñandú (Guaraní and Spanish). - Photo by: Rufus46

Greater Rhea (Rhea Americana) is another “largest birds that still live today” also in the group of flightless birds. Greater Rhea lives in the eastern part of Southern America native to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Just like its cousin, the ostrich, greater rhea lives in open areas such as grasslands, savannah or grassy wetlands. There’s a group of this bird established itself in Germany since 2000 with growing population.

Growing so big makes it harder for greater rhea to be able to fly. The average weight for an adult bird can achieve 20–27 kg (44–60 lb), while stand at 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) to top of its head. The size also is bigger for the male bird compared to the females. The size of males can reach up to 40 kg (88 lb), stand nearly 1.83 m (6.0 ft) tall and measure over 150 cm (59 in) long, although this is uncommon.

Greater rhea with its fluffy feathers. - Photo by: parcanimalierdauvergne.fr

Greate rhea's foot is strong for running. - Photo by: jungledragon.com 

Same as other flightless birds such as ostriches and emus, they mostly rely on their legs to run away from predators (when being threatens). Their wings are useless for flights, but will work as balancer when they are changing direction during their run. Same as any other bigger birds, greater rhea has stronger legs that can be used as a weapon instead just for running.

Even though their diet mostly consists of plants, fruits and seeds, this bird also enjoys meals of insects, lizards, birds and other small animals. It is easier for this bird to adapt itself as they don’t have any trouble to find their food. That also explained how their population grows rapidly in their new territory in German.

Greater rheas, chasing each other. - Photo by: knowsleysafariexperience.co.uk

Male greater rhea nursing its eggs during the incubation process. - Photo by: Ralph Bower

Greater rhea is a solitary bird until the mating seasons. While the males are polygynous, the females at the same time are polyandrous. Few females will lay their eggs in the same nest prepared by the male; with the total of eggs can reach up to 50 eggs or more. Other special characters of this bird are the males will incubate the eggs and also taken care of their young.

Rhea eggs were collected by human and their meat also were eaten. Instead of that, rhea’s skin also been used to produce leather products. Their population was threatened by human, until the regulations, safe this bird from totally perished.

Largest Living Bird: Kori Bustard

Kori bustard (ardeotis kori), is the largest flying birds. Photo by: Winfried Bruenken

Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori) one of the largest living bird in the world today. It's also one of the largest flying birds that still exist. It is the member of the bustard family that consists of four species throughout the world - ranging from Africa, India, and Australia.

Being the largest flying bird, kori bustard flies a short distance and only when needed. It will spend most of its time on the ground forage occasionally in low bushes and trees. Kori bustard is omnivorous birds and will eat almost anything from insects, small reptiles and small mammals, and also seeds and fruits. Being heavy, kori bustard will try to avoid flying unless necessary.

Male kori bustard (A. k. struthiunculus) displaying in Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Photo by: David Berkowitz

Female of the nominate race near Etosha National Park, Namibia. Photo by: Hans Hillewaert

The male kori bustard is larger than female can reach up to 120 to 150 cm (3 ft 11 in to 4 ft 11 in) in height with wingspan about 230 to 275 cm (7 ft 7 in to 9 ft 0 in). Its weigh can reach up to 7 and 18 kg (15 and 40 lbs). Even though they were reports mentioned about the outsized specimens with weighing up to 23 kg (51 lb) and more.

Africa has the most diversity of the bustard species and spread throughout the continent. Among them are Denham's bustard (Neotis denhamii) and Ludwig's bustard (Neotis luwigii). While, Arabian bustard (Ardeotis arabs) has its range on the East Africa.

Same as many other birds, kori bustard has its own courtship displays to impress the females. The courtship display will followed by low-pitched booming noise with inflated neck where the male will look larger. Several males will be compete among each other. There will be fight between males with serious battle in order to win the females. One male will mates will several females in his territory – different from albatrosses and swan that will mate only with one female for long period of time.

Richard Meinertzhagen holds a shot kori bustard near Nairobi in 1915, illustrating the bird's huge size. Photo by: unknown

Kori bustard flying over the grassland. Photo by: RICHARD AND EILEEN FLACK

Kori bustard's chick, between keeper's hands. Photo by: nationalzoo.si.edu

Only female kori bustard will look over their eggs. Usually 2 eggs are laid, and seldom 1 or 3. Female built their nest within the tree shrubs, termite mount or an outcrop of rocks. Their plumage colour and behaviour make their nest is hard to be spotted.

Young chicks will grow up quickly and ready to follow their mother few hours after hatched. They fledge at 4 to 5 weeks old, but only ready to fly until 4 to 5 months. Usually one of the two young make it to adulthood. Living their mother in their second year, and ready to breed when they become fully matures around three to four years old.

Kori bustard is listed Near Threatened by IUCN (2013). They are rarely since in human populated areas. The development such as power lines can kill this bird (the powerlines in Karoo kill 22 kori bustard during 5 months period). More study should be conducted in order to help this bird from extinction.

Largest Living Bird: Andean Condor

Andean condor soaring using the thermal current. Photo by: aracari.com

The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is one of the largest birds that still lives today. In the group of New World vulture found in the Andes Mountains regions in the Western South America. Andean condors can be found in Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Argentina. It’s rarely seen now in Venezuela, as in any other areas, the numbers keep on declining.

Andean condors are massive birds with weight of 11 to 15 kg (24 to 33 lb) for males, requires big wings with wingspan up to 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in). The wings not just longer in length but also bigger in areas compared to any other flying bird such as wandering albatross, and Dalmatian pelican.

Larger wings allow Andean condor to glide instead of flapping. Photo by: abcbirds.org

A female Andean Condor at Doué-la-Fontaine Zoo, France. Photo by: Emilio del Prado 

Andean condor rarely flaps its wings when fly because it has less major muscle (pectoralis major) as we can see in other high flapping birds. Its wings size and shapes helps it to soar or gliding the air current. This is also a reason why Andean condor prefers to roost on high places where there are more wind to help it to fly with less effort. It’s also using the thermal current as the air rising up from the desert heat.

Andean condor same as vultures are primarily a scavenger. They fly up high in the sky while scanning any animal carcasses. Andean condor can sometimes join other vultures or other scavenger birds in searching for carrion. They prefer on larger carcases such as llamas, alpacas, rheas, guanacos, deer and armadillos. They also can get plenty of food from the coastal areas – from the dead, sea creatures. Even though rarely hunting, Andean condor sometimes kills smaller animals such as rodents, birds and rabbits.

Condors feeding on a dead guanaco, with Torres del Paine in the background. Photo by: awasi.com

Andean condor only produce one chick for every two years. Photo by: zoochat.com

Andean condor will become mature by five to six years of age. They prefer to build their nest at an elevation of 3,000 to 5,000 m (9,800 to 16,400 ft) with only one egg for every two years. The egg will hatch after 54 to 58 days of incubation. Then their parent will take care of their young for a full year.

Condors and vultures are playing important roles to clean up carcasses to avoid the spreading of diseases. They have special capabilities to avoid toxicity produces by the bacteria they eat.

Since Andean condor is very big, it become a national symbol of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuelan Andes states. It also plays an important role for peoples in those regions. It can be seen clearly from their cultures, mythology and arts.

The numbers of Andean condors are still declining and the conservation status of this bird is listed as Near Threatened by IUCN in 2012.

Largest Living Bird: Dalmatian Pelican

An adult Dalmatian pelican swimming. Photo by: Sergey Dereliev

The Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) is another larger species of bird that stilllives today. Its weight is the heaviest among other water birds (and the largest swans are closely behind), while their wings closer to the length of great albatrosses. Compared to albatross, Dalmatian pelican is a short to medium distance migrant between its breeding and their overwintering areas.

Pelican can easily identify by its rubbery orange pouch beneath their bill. Anyway, for Dalmatian pelican it has silvery-white plumage during the breeding season. The character that unique for this bird is the thick crest of silver feathers on its nape. The colour of its pouch will change to yellow as the breeding season progresses. While their feathers will appear whiter or grey.

The Dalmatian pelican with its large wings. Photo by: otlibrary.com

A Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus). Photo by: Thomas Bresson

Their size can reach up to 160 to 183 cm (5 ft 3 in to 6 ft 0 in) in length, 7.25–15 kg (16.0–33.1 lb) in weight and 245 to 351 cm (8 ft 0 in to 11 ft 6 in) in wingspan. It also looks similar to its closest relative the great white pelican. The size of a male Dalmatian pelican also larger than the female that easily notice.

There are two main populations of Dalmatian pelican. The first population that breeds in Eastern Europe an winters in the eastern Mediterranean, while the second population that breeds in Russia and central Asia and winters in Iran, Iraq and the Indian subcontinent. The Dalmatian pelican is found in lakes, rivers, deltas, and estuaries in any suitable wetlands with many elevations.

It prefers to nest in small group and sometimes may even nest alone. However, they can form small colonies that consist of up to 250 pairs. Nesting sites usually either islands or dense mat of aquatic vegetation. The Dalmatian pelican lays from one to six eggs, with average number of two. The incubation period will take within 30 to 34 days. The chick will ready to be independent at 100 to 105 days old.

The Dalmatian pelican chicks. Photo by: otlibrary.com

The nesting area of Dalmatian pelican. Photo by: Natural History Museum of Montenegro

Since Dalmatian pelican is freshwater bird, it feeds almost entirely on freshwater fish, ranging from common carp (Cyprinus carpio), European perch (Perca fluviatilis), common rudd (Scardinius erythropthalmus), eels, catfish (especially silurids during winter), mullet and northern pike (Esox lucius). The size of fish can be up to 50 cm (20 in). The Dalmatian pelican requires around 1,200 g (2.6 lb) of fish per day. The total diet consists of larger and smaller fishes, even though it always prefers the larger size.

The Dalmatian pelican number is decreasing throughout its range. The reasons of their declining are not entirely understood. They are listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List 2017. Even though there are some improvement through the conservation initiatives, the threat to this species are still too high as it is more sensitive than other pelican species.