Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXVI, Issue 2
Written by Aurelia NICA, Daniela-Cristina IBANESCU, Adina POPESCU, Mihaela CRISTESCU, Catalina ITICESCU
The beaver has a historical presence on Romania’s territory. The European beaver is nicknamed the "engineer of ecosystems" for the ingenuity through which it builds a mosaic of habitats. In their habitats it stores water and, in the same time, does something more like expanding wetlands which are helpful for adapting to the climate change. Moreover, this herbivorous species has a long-term impact on the environment in which it lives, enriching the biodiversity of these habitats. The purpose of this manuscript is to update the information about the beaver populations in the pre-deltaic area of Romania. The information was collected during period 2019-2022, when we effectuated researches in weekly in the dig-mal flood zone of the Danube River, between Grindu locality and Tulcea city and in the area of the Somova-Parches aquatic complex. All the researches were done using the method of signs of presence, a methodology also approved by the IUCN working group. Finding signs of presence on other territories apart from the well known us, led us to the conclusion that the number of beavers in Danube's avandelta has expanded since it was reported in 2010 by occupying favourable habitats.
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