Lovebirds in the air:trade patterns, establishment success and niche shifts of Agapornis parrots within their non-native range

Understanding the factors influencing the establishment of non-native species is pivotal with regards to the development of effective biosecurity policies. In this paper, we aim to assess the role of climate matching, trade patterns and breeding origin as drivers of establishment success of introduced lovebirds (Agapornis species). A comprehensive database on the worldwide distribution of eight species of non-native lovebirds (including establishment success and population size from 21 countries spanning 27 years) was compiled. We combined climate-based species distribution models with environmental niche analyses to evaluate environmental suitability and potential niche shifts in the introduced range of lovebirds. Then, we tested whether combining habitat suitability with information on trade, introduction effort and breeding origin (captive-bred or wild-caught) of imported birds can improve model predictions at the country level. Although climate-based models fit well with the current distribution of non-native lovebirds at 5-arcminute resolution and significant niche similarity was found for 3 species, we also observed successful establishments in areas climatically distinct from those occupied in native ranges. At the country level, only a significant relationship between the number of established populations and both the number of introduction sites and the year of first importation was observed. A significant effect of breeding origin was not found, but most traded birds had a captive-bred origin. Our work contributes to the growing evidence of the complexity of the invasion process and the difficulty of pre-introduction invasion assessments based solely on the characteristics of the recipient environments for the Agapornis species. Surveillance protocols should be applied to both wild-caught and captive-bred lovebirds, as additional data becomes available to better tease apart the role of origin in those species.The realisation of this manuscript was supported by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology COST Action ES1304 (ParrotNet). The contents of this paper are the authors’ responsibility and neither COST nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible for the use that might be made of the information contained in it. Luís Reino was funded by FEDER Funds through the Operational Competitiveness Factors Program “COMPETE”, and by National Funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) within the framework of the Project “PTDC/AAG-GLO/0463/2014-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016583” and FCT Post-doc Grant SFRH/BPD/93079/2013. LC was funded by the H2020-MSCA-IF-2016 fellowship No. 752149.Peer reviewe

Epizoochory in Parrots as an Overlooked Yet Widespread Plant–Animal Mutualism

Plant–animal interactions are key to sustaining whole communities and ecosystem function. However, their complexity may limit our understanding of the underlying mechanisms and the species involved. The ecological effects of epizoochory remain little known compared to other seed dispersal mechanisms given the few vectors identified. In addition, epizoochory is mostly considered non-mutualistic since dispersers do not obtain nutritional rewards. Here, we show a widespread but unknown mutualistic interaction between parrots and plants through epizoochory. Combining our observations with photos from web-sources, we recorded nearly 2000 epizoochory events in 48 countries across five continents, involving 116 parrot species and nearly 100 plant species from 35 families, including both native and non-native species. The viscid pulp of fleshy fruits and anemochorous structures facilitate the adherence of tiny seeds (mean 3.7 × 2.56 mm) on the surface of parrots while feeding, allowing the dispersion of these seeds over long distances (mean = 118.5 m). This parrot–plant mutualism could be important in ecosystem functioning across a wide diversity of environments, also facilitating the spread of exotic plants. Future studies should include parrots for a better understanding of plant dispersal processes and for developing effective conservation actions against habitat loss and biological invasions.This research was funded by Severo Ochoa Program (SVP-2014-068732), Action COST “ParrotNet” (ES1304), and Loro Parque Fundación (PP-146-2018-1). E.S.-G. is funded by a Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC-2019-027216I) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation

Emerging laws must not protect stray cats and their impacts

Our moral circles—that is, the entities believed as worthy of moral concern and thus deserving moral considerations—have historically expanded beyond humans to include also nonhuman beings (Crimston et al., 2018). As a result, various emerging legal instruments around the world have been granting rights to animals. However, the inclusion of animals within moral circles is subjected to important biases, with a preference for charismatic, familiar, and beautiful vertebrates (Klebl et al., 2021). We argue that legal instruments embracing such biases may jeopardize biodiversity conservation.The authors would like to thank all researchers who have kindly contributed to the discussion of this conservation problem in Spain.Peer reviewe

Roadside Car Surveys: Methodological Constraints and Solutions for Estimating Parrot Abundances across the World

Parrots stand out among birds because of their poor conservation status and the lack of available information on their population sizes and trends. Estimating parrot abundance is complicated by the high mobility, gregariousness, patchy distributions, and rarity of many species. Roadside car surveys can be useful to cover large areas and increase the probability of detecting spatially aggregated species or those occurring at very low densities. However, such surveys may be biased due to their inability to handle differences in detectability among species and habitats. We conducted 98 roadside surveys, covering > 57,000 km across 20 countries and the main world biomes, recording ca. 120,000 parrots from 137 species. We found that larger and more gregarious species are more easily visually detected and at greater distances, with variations among biomes. However, raw estimates of relative parrot abundances (individuals/km) were strongly correlated (r = 0.86–0.93) with parrot densities (individuals/km2) estimated through distance sampling (DS) models, showing that variability in abundances among species (>40 orders of magnitude) overcomes any potential detectability bias. While both methods provide similar results, DS cannot be used to study parrot communities or monitor the population trends of all parrot species as it requires a minimum of encounters that are not reached for most species (64% in our case), mainly the rarest and more threatened. However, DS may be the most suitable choice for some species-specific studies of common species. We summarize the strengths and weaknesses of both methods to guide researchers in choosing the best–fitting option for their particular research hypotheses, characteristics of the species studied, and logistical constraints.This research was funded by Fundación Biodiversidad (Spanish Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, project 52I.CA2109), Fundación Repsol, Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Project CGL2015-71378-P), and mostly by Loro Parque Fundación (Project SEJI/2018/024).Peer reviewe

Interacciones entre especies de psitácidos exóticos y los nuevos medios que ocupan

Biological invasions are amongst critical causes of biodiversity loss around the world, although interactions between invasive species, native biota and recipient environment are mostly unknown. Their identification may show how certain invasive species are able to establish successfully in novel environments and which potential ecological impacts threaten native biota. However, both interactions and their potential impacts are usually overlooked, especially in first stages of invasion, because they may arise between unexpected interact species as well as their detection depends of long-term studies. Parrots (Order Psittaciformes) are one of the groups most affected by international wildlife trade due to their appraisal as pets, consequently, 16% of parrot species present populations established out of their native range. Between non-native parrots, rose-ringed (Psittacula krameri) and monk (Myiopsitta monachus) parakeets are the most successful to establish and invade novel environments, even though numerous introductions have occurred in more than forty countries worldwide, their biotic interactions and impacts are poorly known. In this thesis, we combine different observations (behavioral, spatial distribution, environmental and population) to assess the role of different biotic interactions and their resultant impacts that arise between a total of X non-native parrot species (mainly rose-ringed and monk parakeets), recipient environment and biota. Our results show that non-native parrot species develop a wide range of biotic interactions (e.g. interspecific competition for nesting sites, facilitation of limiting resources and animal-plant mutualisms) that may threaten or benefit several coexisting species, both native and non-native. Thus, the emergence of adaptive behaviors (e.g. nesting association and innovation) in non-native parrots allows for overcoming barriers from recipient environment, such as biotic resistance and scarcity of limiting resources, or obstacles during their first stages of establishment (e.g. Allee effects). Overall, the wide analysis and study in long-term of biotic interactions here performed shows their importance as one of key mechanisms for success of establishment and invasion process in non-native parrots species. Moreover, their associated ecological impacts are a risk for native species, especially threaten species, hence, the implementation of efficient management plans is urgently necessary to conserve the biodiversity. Key words: Psittaciformes; biological invasions; interspecific competition; biotic resistance; commensalism; behavioral innovation; facilitation; hybridization; Allee effect; animal-plant mutualism; seed dispersal; zoochory; impact; eradication; management plans; population viabilit

Annual Censuses and Citizen Science Data Show Rapid Population Increases and Range Expansion of Invasive Rose-Ringed and Monk Parakeets in Seville, Spain

Population changes of invasive species can go unnoticed long before population explosions, so long-term monitoring programs are needed to assess changes in population size. Although invasive populations of rose-ringed (Psittacula krameri) and monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) are present worldwide, their current status and dynamics are mostly poorly known. Here, we provide a long-term population monitoring of both parakeet species established in a Mediterranean urban area. Between 2013 and 2021, we conducted systematic population censuses in the city of Seville and collected their occurrence and spatial distribution data from citizen science platforms. Our censuses showed a rapid population growth of both species: rose-ringed parakeets increased from 1200 to 6300 individuals, while monk parakeets increased from 70 to 1487 individuals. These population trends were weakly reflected by the number of parakeet observations and the number of cells with parakeet observations but not by the number of individuals recorded in citizen science platforms. Moreover, for the monk parakeet, the number of cells with observations was related to the spatial spread of its nests across the study area. Although resource-intensive, long-term monitoring programs are essential to assess population changes and develop effective management actions for invasive species. Thus, contrasting this information with data taken through citizen science platforms can validate the utility of the latter for assessing population status of invasive species

Alien rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri) attack black rats (Rattus rattus) sometimes resulting in death

The rose-ring parakeet (Psittacula krameri) is one of the most successful invasive birds in its establishment worldwide. Studies addressing its potential impact on native biota mostly focus on birds and little is known about how these and other parakeet species interact with native mammals. Here, we report 21 aggressions of rose-ringed parakeets towards black rats (Rattus rattus) in urban parks in Seville (Southern Spain) and Tenerife (Canary Islands). Either solitary parakeets or, more often, groups of up to 18 attacked rats when they climbed trees close to parakeet nests. Most attacks ended when the rats descended to the ground. However, in two instances (9.5 % of the aggressions) the attacks resulted in the death of the rats as a result of falling to the pavement. These observations add further complexity to a biological invasion, where introduced parakeets have negative impacts on a predator and thus, some native bird species may benefit from their antipredator behavior. More attention should be paid to the interactions between native mammals and the non-native parakeets introduced worldwide.Peer reviewe

A protective nesting association with native species counteracts biotic resistance for the spread of an invasive parakeet from urban into rural habitats

Background: Non-native species are often introduced in cities, where they take advantage of microclimatic conditions, resources provided by humans, and competitor/predator release to establish and proliferate. However, native communities in the surrounding rural or natural areas usually halt their spread through biotic resistance, mainly via top-down regulative processes (predation pressure). Here, we show an unusual commensal interaction between exotic and native bird species that favours the spread of the former from urban to rural habitats. Results: We show how Monk parakeets Myiopsitta monachus, an invasive species often introduced in cities worldwide, associated for breeding with a much larger, native species (the white stork Ciconia ciconia) to reduce predation risk in central Spain, thus allowing their colonization of rural areas. Parakeets selected stork nests close to conspecifics and where breeding raptors were less abundant. Parakeets always flushed when raptors approached their nests when breeding alone, but stayed at their nests when breeding in association with storks. Moreover, when storks abandoned a nest, parakeets abandoned it in the following year, suggesting that storks actually confer protection against predators. Conclusions: Our results show how a protective-nesting association between invasive and native species can counteract biotic resistance to allow the spread of an invasive species across non-urban habitats, where they may become crop pests. Monk parakeet populations are now growing exponentially in several cities in several Mediterranean countries, where they coexist with white storks. Therefore, management plans should consider this risk of spread into rural areas and favour native predators as potential biological controllersPeer reviewe

Annual Censuses and Citizen Science Data Show Rapid Population Increases and Range Expansion of Invasive Rose-Ringed and Monk Parakeets in Seville, Spain

Population changes of invasive species can go unnoticed long before population explosions, so long-term monitoring programs are needed to assess changes in population size. Although invasive populations of rose-ringed (Psittacula krameri) and monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) are present worldwide, their current status and dynamics are mostly poorly known. Here, we provide a long-term population monitoring of both parakeet species established in a Mediterranean urban area. Between 2013 and 2021, we conducted systematic population censuses in the city of Seville and collected their occurrence and spatial distribution data from citizen science platforms. Our censuses showed a rapid population growth of both species: rose-ringed parakeets increased from 1200 to 6300 individuals, while monk parakeets increased from 70 to 1487 individuals. These population trends were weakly reflected by the number of parakeet observations and the number of cells with parakeet observations but not by the number of individuals recorded in citizen science platforms. Moreover, for the monk parakeet, the number of cells with observations was related to the spatial spread of its nests across the study area. Although resource-intensive, long-term monitoring programs are essential to assess population changes and develop effective management actions for invasive species. Thus, contrasting this information with data taken through citizen science platforms can validate the utility of the latter for assessing population status of invasive species

Correction: A protective nesting association with native species counteracts biotic resistance for the spread of an invasive parakeet from urban into rural habitats

Correction: Frontiers in Zoology 17, 13 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-020-00360-2 Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported that the funding information has to be updated. The correct funding information should read: This study was supported by project CGL2015-71378-P MINECO/FEDER, UE, the Severo Ochoa Program (SVP-2014-068732) and Action COST ES1304 (ParrotNet). Logistical and technical support for fieldwork was provided by Doñana ICTS-RBD. The original article [1] has been updated.Peer reviewe