• 1. Wetlands are declining worldwide, and there is a great need for their restoration and creation. One natural agent of wetland engineering is beavers, Castor spp., which have returned or are returning to many parts of their former range.
• 2. We initially studied the facilitative effect of the beaver Castor canadensis on a waterbird community consisting of three waders and four ducks in boreal wetlands in southern Finland. Both waterbird species diversity and abundance increased when beavers impounded a pond. Common teal Anas crecca and green sandpiper Tringa ochropus were the species showing the most positive numerical response, but the other five species also increased upon flooding.
• 3. This article evaluates how the results of the study have been used in management, both in theory and practice. The whole‐community facilitation concept has been taken up in numerous articles considering the restorative effects of beavers. It has also been used as ecological background when planning and executing man‐made wetland projects in Finland within both the public and the private sectors.
• 4. Our study and its publication in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems have set a foundation for further evidence‐based management of waterbird communities. As the results show, having beavers as wetland managers is a feasible tool for creating and restoring wetlands for waterbirds and other biota. Moreover, wetland restoration projects are becoming more popular endeavours, owing to an understanding of the diverse benefits of wetlands. Flooding by beavers is used as a model for managers when creating man‐made wetlands; for example, in urban areas where it is difficult to maintain beavers.

中文翻译：

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利用研究恢复湿地生物多样性：以海狸为框架的整体社区促进

• 1.全世界的湿地正在减少，因此非常需要对其进行恢复和创造。湿地工程的自然因素之一是海狸Castor spp。，它们已经返回或正在返回其先前范围的许多部分。
• 2.我们最初研究了海狸加拿大蓖麻（Castor canadensis）对芬兰南部北方湿地中由三只涉禽和四只鸭子组成的水鸟群落的促进作用。当海狸把池塘围起来时，水鸟的多样性和丰度都增加了。常见的蓝绿色Anas crecca和绿色矶andTringa ochropus是表现出最正数值响应的物种，但其他5个物种在洪水时也增加了。
• 3.本文评估了研究结果如何在理论和实践上用于管理。考虑到海狸的恢复作用，许多文章都采用了整个社区促进的概念。在芬兰公共和私营部门中计划和执行人造湿地项目时，也已将其用作生态背景。
• 4.我们的研究及其在“水生保护：海洋和淡水生态系统”中的出版物为进一步基于证据的水鸟群落管理奠定了基础。结果表明，让海狸作为湿地管理者是创建和恢复水鸟和其他生物群落湿地的可行工具。此外，由于对湿地的各种益处的了解，湿地恢复项目正变得越来越受欢迎。在创建人工湿地时，海狸的洪水被用作管理者的模型。例如，在难以维护海狸的城市地区。