Current and future habitat availability for Thick-billed and Maroon-fronted parrots in northern Mexican forests

Abstract

Thick-billed Parrots (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha) and Maroon-fronted Parrots (Rhynchopsitta terrisi) are the only parrots in Mexico found in high-elevation coniferous forests. Both species are critically endangered due to logging, and climate change is expected to further reduce their available habitat. Our objectives were to assess the present and future availability of a suitable habitat for these parrots using ecological niche models. Future climatic scenarios were estimated by overlaying the present distributions of these parrots on maps of projected biome distributions generated using a North American vegetation model. Our climatic scenarios revealed that the distribution of key habitats for both parrots will likely be affected as the climate becomes more suitable for xeric biomes. The climate associated with coniferous forests in the current range of Maroon-fronted Parrots is predicted to disappear by 2090, and the climate associated with the key coniferous habitats of Thick-billed Parrots may contract. However, our results also indicate that suitable climatic conditions will prevail for the high-elevation coniferous biomes where Thick-billed Parrots nest. The degree to which both species of parrots will be able to adapt to the new scenarios is uncertain. Some of their life history traits may allow them to respond with a combination of adaptive and spatial responses to climatic change and, in addition, suitable climatic conditions will prevail in some portions of their ranges. Actions needed to ensure the conservation of these parrots include strict control of logging and integration of rapid response teams for fire management within the potential foraging ranges of nesting pairs. A landscape with a greater proportion of restored forests would also aid in the recovery of current populations of Thick-billed and Maroon-fronted parrots and facilitate their responses to climate change.

Forecasting the combined effects of climate and land use change on Mexican bats

“…Mexico embodies a substantial conservation challenge as it is one of the most biodiverse countries (Mittermeier et al., ), and it has been identified as particularly vulnerable to environmental change and biodiversity loss (Malcolm et al., ; Visconti et al., ). However, information concerning future effects of human‐caused changes on Mexican biodiversity is scarce as most studies have assessed small regions (e.g., García, Ortega‐Huerta, & Martínez‐Meyer, ), included limited numbers of species (Monterrubio‐Rico, Charre‐Medellin, & Sáenz‐Romero, ) and analysed single threats (Peterson et al., ).…”

Patterns and drivers of long‐term changes in breeding bird communities in a global biodiversity hotspot in Mexico

“…Similarly, in the Sierra San José, I observed few pines only on the highest north faces that contrasts historical descriptions of more widespread forest (Mearns, ), and extensive stands of mountain scrub and first records of associated bird species (Black‐chinned Sparrow), suggesting climate change and wildfire drove these changes. These and other signs of drought stress and conifer mortality in south‐western North America (Breshears et al, ; Ferguson, Flesch, & Devender, ) foreshadow potential for pervasive future contractions of montane taxa (Gómez‐Mendoza & Arriaga, ; Monterrubio‐Rico, Charre‐Medellin, & Sáenz‐Romero, ; Rehfeldt, Crookston, Sáenz‐Romero, & Campbell, ; Sáenz‐Romero et al, ).…”

“…Importantly, nest cavities required by these species often occur only in large trees and snags (Lanning & Shiflett, ; Monterrubio‐Rico & Enkerlin‐Hoeflich, ), which are among the last legacies of old forests to recover following logging (Franklin et al, ) and were often rare. Limitations of these keystone resources due to past logging have been implicated in declines of these and other similar bird species in coniferous forests across western North America (Brawn & Balda, ; Hejl, ; Jones et al, ), including endemic Thick‐billed Parrot and Imperial Woodpecker in Mexico (Lammertink, Rojas‐Torre, Casillas‐Orona, & Otto, ; Monterrubio‐Rico et al, ). Such patterns are especially troublesome in the SMO where logging remains widespread, and for declining regional endemics of foremost conservation concern.…”

Abundance and habitat relationships of breeding birds in the Sky Islands and adjacent Sierra Madre Occidental of northwest Mexico

“…, Monterrubio‐Rico et al. ), those communities and birds that depend on them are good targets for conservation efforts. However, because breeding bird species richness in mixed‐conifer forest is much lower than in pine‐oak woodland (Escalante‐Pliego et al.…”