IAP-25-132

Rewired ecosystems: connecting structure, function and biodiversity in beaver-engineered landscapes

The reintroduction of beavers has been a conservation success story repeated across Europe and North America. By damming small rivers, beavers induce landscape-scale changes and dynamism (Figure 1). One of the most established outcomes of beaver engineering is improved biodiversity, both within and beyond their wetlands, with a catalogue of studies demonstrating increases in plants, invertebrates, amphibians, birds and mammals (Stringer & Gaywood, 2016). We also know that beaver wetlands restore lost ecosystem functions, e.g. increased primary productivity, flood and drought alleviation, improved water quality, etc. (Brazier et al., 2020; Larsen, Larsen & Lane, 2021). However, the links between ecosystem function and biodiversity responses are less well understood. For example, can positive functional responses occur independently of biodiversity change?
These knowledge gaps may limit the use of beavers as a nature-based solution to the climate and biodiversity crises or recognition of beaver-engineered landscapes as ‘multifunctional’.
This project aims to quantify key indicators of ecosystem function and biodiversity in beaver-created and control (non-beaver influenced) wetlands at sites in Britain and Finland. Specifically, the objectives are to:
– Quantify ecosystem processes (e.g. decomposition, productivity, biomass, herbivory) in these wetland types.
– Map energy flows within each wetland type and spillover to the surrounding terrestrial habitat.
– Assess the biodiversity of key indicator taxonomic groups (e.g. plants and birds) within beaver-created and control systems.
– Establish if delivery of ecosystem functions scales with biodiversity in these wetland types.

The project will be based at sites in both Britain and Finland. The supervisory team have worked at some of these sites for almost 20 years (e.g. Law et al., 2017) and have assembled a wealth of supporting data and knowledge via a long-term programme of research and a succession of PhD studentships. Fieldwork will also be conducted at independent sites where beavers have been newly reintroduced in Britain, with supervisory support provided by staff from the Beaver Trust.

The PhD candidate should be prepared to work across multiple disciplines, have an understanding of aquatic and terrestrial environmental processes and be ready to develop these skills to an advanced level. In addition, the project will involve detailed logistical planning. Multiple sites will be sampled to quantify selected ecosystem processes, and repeated throughout the year. The candidate will be expected to manage this project and multi-task with advice from the supervisory team (e.g. liaising with landowners, budgeting, organising field equipment & deployment, and organising field campaigns within Britain and southern Finland).
The PhD candidate will create a shortlist of ecosystem processes that will be measured at each site. These may include a combination of:
– Production – measurements of physico-chemical parameters and microbial biomass
– Decomposition – leaf litter bag experiments to quantify nutrient cycling both within and nearby beaver and control wetlands
– Nutrient turnover and herbivory – based on exclosures or algal tiles
– Biodiversity – combining existing data and new surveys of key taxonomic groups that can influence ecosystem function (plants) or be affected by changes (birds)

Year 1

• Literature review
• Development of experimental and sampling design
• Stakeholder liaison and logistical planning
• Field and laboratory skills development
• Training needs assessment (e.g. statistical courses)
• Initial site scoping and data collection

Year 2

• Ongoing sampling campaign
• Processing of samples in lab at Stirling
• Integration of early results with existing data
• Exploratory data analyses
• Advanced statistical training

Year 3

• Opportunistic sampling in UK
• Finland sampling campaign
• Data exploration, analyses and interpretation
• Draft papers
• Conference attendance to present interim results

Year 3.5

• Refining data analysis
• Paper and thesis writing
• International conference attendance to present developed results

The student will benefit from a mix of field, lab and computing techniques, all of which are professional transferable skills. Further skills development will be supported through IAPETUS specific provision and external courses. Example courses include; statistical analysis with R, media training; leadership skills; conference skills (e.g., networking, poster and oral presentation skills); Geographic Information Systems (GIS); and grant budgeting/writing. The research findings will be published as journal articles led by the PhD research student in leading environmental journals. Given the strong public and stakeholder interest in beavers we expect that such articles will attract a high media interest. The student will also present results at conferences including the Scottish Ecology, Environment and Conservation Student Conference, British Ecological Society annual conference, as well as to local and regional stakeholder and special interest groups to bring the project to a wider audience. The supervisory team are highly experienced in freshwater science, with access to a breadth of facilities at the University of Stirling and UKCEH, with inclusive and productive lab groups and PhD cohorts at these institutions. The student will also be expected to engage with large research projects at UoS and UKCEH involving their supervisors.