Database of North American beaver (Castor canadensis Kuhl, 1820) in Russia

Study Extent

The dataset includes data on the North American beaver from the European (Karelia) and Asian (Kamchatka and Far East) parts of Russia. In Karelia observations were made in the Kivach and Kostomuksha nature reserves. The data on the territory of the Kivach nature reserve were collected by the authors of the work, and the records for the territory of the Kostomuksha reserve were identified from literature (Fyodorov, Danilov, 2018). Records on the Kamchatka, the Bolshekhekhtsirskiy reserve and the Anyuyskiy national park (Khabarovsk Krai) were collected by the authors, and on the other territories of the Far East on the basis of literature data (Oleinikov, 2013).

Sampling

Beavers (Castor sp.) are nocturnal animals, and it is rare to see individuals themselves, but the dams, lodges built by them, as well as tree bites are characteristic only for the species from this genus. The presence of beavers on rivers can be reliably recognized by these signs. In the present world fauna two beaver species are known: the native range of the Eurasian beaver (C. fiber) located in Eurasia, of the North American beaver (C. canadensis) - in North America. In the 20th century, the North American beaver was introduced to other continents: South America and Eurasia. Both species of beavers are presently found in Russia. Identifying these species is difficult. We included Canadian beavers in our dataset in the following cases: 1. Only Canadian beavers inhabit the region, which has been confirmed earlier by craniological diagnostics and there is data on monitoring of beavers' dispersal to the region (Kivach and Kostomuksha nature reserves); 2. Only Canadian beavers have been introduced to the region (Kamchatka); 3. Beavers of both species inhabit the region, but their populations are spatially separated, which is confirmed by the history of Canadian beaver introduction and monitoring of their further dispersal (Far East). Dataset contains 25 such occurrences. In addition, we included one occurrence of beaver, the diagnosis of which species is questionable. We left this occurrence (genus level) in our dataset because diagnostics of the beaver in the river basin Anyui should be further carried out.

Method steps

1. The main part of the dataset is collected in the field. In these cases, the geographic coordinates of the records were determined in the field using GPS. Another part of the data is literary sources, where there are not only descriptions of the places of findings, but also maps. The coordinates were determined from Google Earth using published descriptions and maps. Depending on the details of the publication, the coordinates obtained by us are given with an accuracy of 5 km. In the third part of the data (in Kamchatka region), the geographical coordinates are determined approximately (with an accuracy to the river and its approximate part), since the region is difficult to access and currently no research is being conducted in this region. Geographic coordinates were determined based on the nature of the river bed using Google Earth. The coordinates were determined by Google Earth with an accuracy of 10 km.

25 occurrences relate to only one species - Castor canadensis, and one occurrences record relate to the genus (Castor), because there is no reliable diagnosis of the species.

1. Castor canadensis
   common name: North American beaver rank: species

The North American beaver is located in Russia in scattered spots: the northmost and westernmost occurrences records of our dataset located in Kostomuksha Nature Reserve (Republic of Karelia); easternmost occurrence records located in Kamchatka, and southernmost occurrence records located in the Far East (Primorsky region).