Herewith this week's pic! In the next 40 minutes tweet me your guesses as to where instream structures occur in the image below and what they are.

We'll then chat about the pic and area with @Simon_Vigil.

RT, share with your friends, this will be a fun #DamOrNot!

This week we are looking at a beaver dam and lodge that separates a human-made lake from a wet meadow adjacent to Platte River, Nebraska thanks to a study and imagery shared with us by @Simon_Vigil and photographer Michael Forsberg. #DamOrNot

I’ll start by saying that the content I share this week is just a brief summary of the story and text @Simon_vigil shared with me to prep for today’s #DamOrNot. Simon will be sharing videos and info as we go along today too!

Also attention @ben_a_goldfarb, @Simon_Vigil et al are keen to publish some of this material, so connecting you two eager beaver watchers! :) #DamOrNot

Since the fall of 2015, Michael Forsberg has been documenting biodiversity and animal activities associated with this beaver dam and lodge adjacent to the Platte River as part of the Platte Basin Timelapse. #DamOrNot

The human-made lakes, like many in central Nebraska, are formerly known as borrow pits, for sand, and hundreds are now present along US interstate 80 in Nebraska alone.

Many animals have made use of these human-made lakes!

Good work @i_rockhopper for noticing those! #DamOrNot

For day-night activity at the den, TRLcam, Lincoln, NE modified a home-security camera w infrared lighting for pics every 10 min or w/ motion.

This cool tech also takes pics when the shape of the lodge changes, capturing 100s of 1000s of pics & 10s of 1000s of videos! #DamOrNot

For his undergrad @simon_vigil went through Michael’s media catalogue to quantify beaver activity, location/type of materials on lodge, and other species associated with the exterior of the lodge. ~1 yr activity shared below (right) along with a cool time-lapse (left)! #DamOrNot

1st on beaver activity, Simon et al found:
*Beavers were rarely observed when the lake was frozen
*Above-H2O beaver activity > w/ high river discharge
*In spring beavers add mud, fill gaps, insulate..
*The kits like to swim around, see video from @simon_vigil! #DamOrNot

The beaver lodge was built to house a growing family…
but also used by many species! See table by @simon_vigil.

‘Northern painted turtles basked on the lodge in late summer, and American bullfrogs rested on the lower edge of the lodge in the early evenings of fall.’ #DamOrNot

Birds also visited the lodge…
*Adult great horned owls visited in winter
*Flocks of American coots; cattle egrets and snowy egrets stopped by
*Passerines and raptors typically perched atop the lodge for brief periods at dawn and dusk.
#DamOrNot

Oh, and there were mammals… other than beavers, but who would want to possibly see those? :) #DamOrNot @NatickBobCat

I’ll finish with saying, Simon hopes to publish his drafted manuscript on the lodge.

He is also keen to publish popular science articles, so a chance for journalists to work with him on that!

I’ll let @Simon_Vigil add details from here! Thank you! #DamOrNot