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. 2018 Oct 30:6:e5669.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.5669. eCollection 2018.

From the cage to the wild: introductions of Psittaciformes to Puerto Rico

Wilfredo Falcón  1   2   3 , Raymond L Tremblay  1   2
Affiliations

From the cage to the wild: introductions of Psittaciformes to Puerto Rico

Wilfredo Falcón et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Introduced psittacine birds can become highly invasive. In this study, we assessed invasions of Psittaciformes in Puerto Rico. We reviewed the literature, public databases, citizen science records, and performed in situ population surveys across the island to determine the historical and current status and distribution of psittacine species. We used count data from Ebird to determine population trends. For species whose populations were increasing, we modelled their potential distribution using niche modeling techniques. We found 46 Psittaciformes in Puerto Rico, of which 26% are only present as pets, at least 29 species have been reported in the wild, and of those, there is evidence that at least 12 species are breeding. Our results indicate that most introduced species which have been detected as established still persist, although mostly in localized areas and small populations. Clear evidence of invasiveness was found for Brotogeris versicolurus and Myiopsitta monachus, which have greatly expanded their range in recent years. Psittacara erythrogenys and Eupsittacula canicularis also showed population increases, although to a lesser degree. The niche models predicted suitable areas for the four species, and also indicate the potential for range expansion. We discuss the factors leading to invasion success, assess the potential impacts, and we discuss possible management strategies and research prospects.

Keywords: Biological invasions; Birds; Cacatuidae; Islands; Parrots; Predicted distribution; Psittacidae; Puerto Rico.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Some of the species of Psittaciformes that occur in the wild in Puerto Rico, and Hurricane Maria-related mortality.
A pair of blue-and-yellow macaws (Ara ararauna) in their nest on Roystonea borinquena (Aracaceae; a), an orange-winged amazon (Amazona amazonica) eating palm fruits (Aracaceae; b), an orange-fronted parakeet (Eupsittula canicularis) foraging on seeds of Lagerstroemia speciosa (Lythraceae; c), a monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) eating the flower buds of Bucida buceras (Combretaceae; d), a white-winged parakeet (Brotogeris versicolurus) eating flower buds (Fabaceae; e), and six out of dozens of white-winged parakeets that died during Hurricane Mari’a in 2017 (f). Photo credits: Yoly Pereira (A), Julio Salgado (B, E), Pedro Santana (C), Sonia Longoria (D), Dinath Figueroa (F).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Sighting trends of different species of Psittaciformes in Puerto Rico showing population increase (A, D, G, J), stable populations (B, E, H) and population decrease (C, F, I).
Island-wide sighting trends were calculated as the sum of the mean number of birds counted per year/municipality (data from Ebird). Grey shading indicates the 95% CI based on the local weighted scatterplot smoothing (loess).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Distribution of 25 species of Psittaciformes in Puerto Rico, depicted by the different colors.
Records originated from observations made by the authors, online databases, and reports from local birding groups (see ‘Methods’).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Current distribution of Psittaciformes in Puerto Rico whose populations are increasing (A, B, E, F) and the predicted distribution of the species based on the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt: C, D, G, H).
Warmer colors depict higher suitability.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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