Accelerated avian invasion into the Mediterranean region endangers biodiversity and mandates international collaboration

Abstract

Despite posing a serious threat to global biodiversity, national and international management efforts have not been able to limit the spread of most invasive species. In highly dispersive species, local invasions may be followed by regional range expansion that crosses international borders. In such cases, independent management efforts of the invading population may be futile unless international collaboration is practiced. We focus on the ongoing human‐mediated invasion of the common myna Acridotheres tristis into the Mediterranean basin, a region rich in overall numbers of species and endemic species, where common mynas have been introduced into a handful of countries. Some introductions were followed by subsequent range expansions into neighbouring countries. This species poses major threats to the biodiversity of the Mediterranean which is already susceptible to biodiversity loss as the result of ongoing land use and climate changes. Without action, this species and possibly others similar to it, could have severe consequences for native ecosystems. Policy implications. Given the regional scope of its invasion in the Mediterranean basin, common myna management requires an international collaboration to successfully prevent additional introductions and range expansions and to avoid accelerating threats to Mediterranean biodiversity, already at risk as a result of ongoing changes in land use and climate. We argue that international reciprocal transfer of information and the development of regional mitigation are essential for the successful management of the invasion of the common myna and other species into the Mediterranean.

First data on the diet of Razorbill Alca torda wintering in the Mediterranean Sea: insights from social media

“…Exploiting the unique circumstances represented by the extraordinary irruption event of 2022/2023, we successfully collected first data on the diet of wintering Razorbills in the Mediterranean Sea. Notably, social media and nature photographs were confirmed to be important tools to assess the ecology of some poorly-studied species or those whose diet is hard to study (e.g., insectivore and pelagic bird species; see Forys & Hevesh, 2017), but also to discover new behaviour/associations and monitor biodiversity (Tiralongo et al, 2019;Azzurro & Tiralongo, 2020) and/or for the evaluation of avian invasions (e.g., Cohen et al, 2022).…”