The North American Beaver Invasion and the Impact Over the Ecosystem Services in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago

Abstract

North American beaver is the most iconic and studied invasive species of Tierra del Fuego. The scientific literature has focused on highlighting the beaver negative impacts on the ecosystems, which have resulted in reduced actions such as eradication. However, the beaver problem in relation to ecosystem services (ES) has been little described or analyzed. This chapter provides a beaver habitat suitability map and discusses the potential positive and/or negative relationships between beaver invasion and ES (provisioning, cultural, supporting, and regulating). We found that ES approaches can provide evidence of the beaver role for the people at different archipelago?s vegetation zones. We conclude by outlining how the comprehensive assessment of ES can be a tool that allows to understand and to guide decision-making for the beaver issue.