Abstract
R.A. Zevin. Modeling The Spatial Extent and Intensity of Beaver (Castor Canadensis) Impacts on
Stream Networks and Forest Structure in Adirondack State Park, NY, 128 pages, 9 tables, 43
figures, 2022. APA style guide used.
Impacts of North American beaver (Castor canadensis) from damming and foraging activities
cause changes at the local landscape level. This research applied landscape characteristics within
spatial models to predict beaver’s potential influence in the density of dams and impoundment
surface area (ISA) along streams and lakes throughout the Adirondack State Park, New York, and
potential proportion of forest trees subject to beaver foraging impacts. Data on topography,
hydrology, and vegetation landcover were the variables considered in model development.
Models for dam density and ISA used generalized linear regressions with zero-inflated Poisson
distributions, whereas the models predicting proportion of impacted stems used beta
regression. The models for dam density and ISA included quadratic variables for drainage area,
unit stream power, and elevation. The model for proportion of impacted stems included distance
from waterbodies, land cover and cross valley slope. Models were applied across the park to
build maps of predicted output.