American alligator

Craighead, F.C. (1968), observation fondatrice des trous d'alligator comme refuges de saison sèche ; Palmer, M.L. & Mazzotti, F.J. (2004). Structure of Everglades alligator holes. Wetlands, 24(1), 115–122.

The earthen mounds pushed up around the alligator hole themselves form a gradient of habitats — from open water to dry land — colonized by willows, wax myrtles and cypress, creating wooded islands that later serve as nesting sites for turtles and birds. A good portion of the wooded islands characteristic of the Everglades landscape are thought to originate from this alligator activity.

Strickland, B.A. et al. (2023). An apex predator engineers wetland food-web heterogeneity through nutrient enrichment and habitat modification. Journal of Animal Ecology.

Ten active alligator ponds were monitored in two Everglades regions (Shark River Slough and Taylor Slough), with sampling of water, organic matter, plants and animals across different habitat types. This is the first study to document this precisely — how the alligator alters nutrient cycling, not just the physical structure of the landscape.