Temporal Activity Patterns of the Eurasian Beaver and Coexisting Species in a Mediterranean Ecosystem.

Analyses of temporal partitioning and overlaps in activity rhythms are pivotal to shed light on interspecific coexistence between similar species or prey and predators. In this work, we assessed the overlap of activity rhythms between the Eurasian beaver and its potential competitors and predators through camera trapping in an area in Central Italy. Interspecific overlaps of temporal activity patterns were estimated for the beavers, potential predators (the red fox and the grey wolf ), and a potential competitor, the coypu . The beavers showed a mostly crepuscular behaviour. Although high temporal overlap was observed between the Eurasian beavers and the red foxes and grey wolves, the activity of the beavers did not overlap with that of the predators. Accordingly, the beavers were more active on the darkest nights, i.e., avoiding bright moonlight.