MANY ANIMAL 'GEOMORPHS' UNDER THREAT

More than a quarter of our planet's natural "geomorphs" — animals such as beavers and hippos that, collectively, can reshape entire landscapes — are threatened or have shrinking populations, a new study says.

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The research, by Queen Mary University of London, found the scale of the impact these animals had on habitats — by building dams, trampling new river courses, excavating earth and other activities — rivals that caused by major floods.

Yet "more than a quarter (28 percent) of zoogeomorphic species are vulnerable to future population decline or regional or global extinction," the study's authors warned.

Their research, published mid-February, identified more than 600 species of land and freshwater animals that worked to redesign their ecosystems.

While beavers, of dam-building fame, and hippopotamuses and elephants, which in herds can flatten stretches of earth, are the best-known, there are many others — often overlooked — that could also be dubbed animal architects.