8. Water Quality Maintenance
By their behaviour and physical activities, capybaras help greatly to preserve water quality. Especially in smaller pools and lagoons, their movement in and out of water bodies aids in aeration of the water and avoidance of stagnation. Their browsing of aquatic vegetation helps control too strong plant growth that can lower oxygen levels and compromise water quality. Their movement across aquatic settings disturbs the sediment dynamics, which helps to preserve them and stops the buildup of too much organic debris. Their actions near rivers help to preserve appropriate water flow and stop the natural channels from being clogged. Studies of water bodies visited by capybaras have revealed that their oxygen levels and nutrient balance generally show superior water quality characteristics than comparable water bodies free of capybara activity.
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