Busy Beavers: Bringing Back Dam-Building Rodents to Protect Amphibians and Reptiles

Beavers are trains with teeth. You may know that trains were historically one of the biggest forces behind the expansion of industry and development in the US, and as a result, redefined the country’s landscape. Before trains, it was North American beavers.

Frog Friend or Foe: The Problematic Legacy of the American Bullfrog

The American bullfrog is an amphibious powerhouse with an equally powerful impact on the ecosystems it inhabits.

Combating Invasives to Give Native Species Back Their Competitive Edge

When you visit a new country, chances are you don’t want to eat at the same burger chain you have near your house, buy your souvenirs at a big box store from the US, and go to an American movie. You want to experience the cuisine, hear the language, and see the art that that particular country offers because those things reveal the fabric of a place’s history and culture.

We can use this concept to understand native ecosystems and invasive species. Just like you can find American burger chains around the world, there aren’t many ecosystems left that haven’t been impacted by invasive species. As humans have spread across the globe, we’ve taken all sorts of species with us—from house cats to flowers to reptiles—and put them where they didn’t historically occur. That has caused problems for our native species (the locals, if you will), and we are at risk of homogenizing our ecosystems and losing the icons of our natural diversity.