Galápagos Birds and Diseases: Invasive Pathogens as Threats for Island Species

Wikelski, Martin; Foufopoulos, Johannes; Vargas, Hernán; Snell, Howard L.

doi:10.5751/es-00605-090105

Cited by 228 publications

(217 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The ruddy duck, feral pigeon, ring-necked parakeet (Psittacula krameri) and little owl (Athene noctua) were all classified alongside ring-necked pheasant as having Moderate (MO), and therefore population-level, impacts on native species by Evans et al (2016) in their recent global assessment. However, these classifications were all on the basis of effects documented outside the UK: the impact of ruddy ducks through hybridization with the threatened white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala) in Spain (Robertson et al 2015), of little owls through predation on insect populations in New Zealand (Watt 1979), of feral pigeons by disease transmission to Galápagos doves (Zenaida galapaagoensis) (Wikelski et al 2004), and of ring-necked parakeets through nest site competition with nuthatches (Sitta europaea) in Belgium (Strubbe et al 2010). The last of these species certainly has the potential for impacts on cavity-nesting birds in Britain, and while there is not yet good evidence for such an effect (Newson et al 2011), the rapid population growth of this species (see Table 1) surely makes one more likely.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundance, biomass and energy use of native and alien breeding birds in Britain

Blackburn

Gaston

2018

Biol Invasions

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We quantify the contribution of alien species to the total breeding population numbers, biomass and energy use of an entire taxonomic assemblage at a large spatial scale, using data on British birds from 1997 and 2013. A total of 216 native and 16 alien bird species were recorded as breeding in Great Britain across the two census years. Only 2.8-3.7% of British breeding bird individuals were alien, but alien species co-opted 11.9-13.8% of the energy used by the assemblage, and contributed 19.1-21.1% of assemblage biomass. Neither the population sizes nor biomasses of native and alien species differed, on average, in either census, but alien species biomass is higher than native species biomass for a given population size. Species richness underestimates the potential effects of alien bird species in Britain, which have disproportionately high overall biomass and population energy use. The main driver of these effects is the ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), which comprised 74-81% of alien biomass, yet the breeding population of this species is still only a small fraction of the estimated 35 million birds released in the UK in autumn. The biomass of this release exceeds that of the entire breeding avifauna, and suggests that the pheasant should have an important role in structuring the communities in which it is embedded.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundance, biomass and energy use of native and alien breeding birds in Britain

Blackburn

Gaston

2018

Biol Invasions

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“…The parasite was detected in three of nine endemic Galapagos Doves on islands where the Rock Dove occurred but none of the 18 Galapagos Doves from islands thought to be free of the Rock Dove (Harmon et al 1987). More recently, Wikelski et al (2004) stated that populations of Galapagos Doves had declined rapidly on islands inhabited by Rock Doves. This suggests that the transmission of canker from the introduced Dove could be threatening the island endemic with extinction.…”

Section: Rock Dovementioning

confidence: 99%

Threats from introduced birds to native birds

Baker

Harvey

French

2014

Emu - Austral Ornithology

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Abstract. Invasion by introduced species is a global threat to the natural environment, with major consequences for biodiversity, economies and societies. This paper reviews the literature documenting interactions between introduced and native bird species. Surprisingly, we found only ten cases of an introduced bird being involved in a process that threatened a population of a native bird with extinction and conclude there is little evidence that introduced birds are a major threat to avian diversity globally. The conservation priorities for managing interactions between introduced and native birds are: (1) strong, precautionary biosecurity policies and practices to discourage future introductions; (2) gaining knowledge about interspecific interactions; (3) managing threats where they affect the persistence or recovery of threatened and endemic island bird species; (4) managing the threat of hybridisation and (5) best practice, cost-effective management that defines threatening processes to avian diversity and uses adaptive management for threat abatement. Our review highlights the lack of evidence for detrimental effects of introduced birds on native avifauna and highlights the need for future work in this area.

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“…It has been argued that, moreover, the introduction in the archipelago of invasive species also occurs by means of feed ingredients, or pathogens which can affect native birds by the import of chickens for the poultry production systems (Gottdenker et al 2005;Wikelski, Foufopoulos, Vargas, & Snell 2004;Deem et al 2010). Two thoughts in this regard are that, first, if we are afraid of the introduction of seeds that might grow into invasive plants through the import of animal feedstuffs, then, we could just allow into the island grinded feedstuff.…”

Section: A Matter Of Definitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards locally adapted livestock production in the Galápagos islands : Characterizing & defining potential redesign strategies for the local poultry and pig production systems of Santa Cruz - Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

Puente-Rodríguez

Bos

2017

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Dit project is uitgevoerd vanwege de urgentie om het herorganiseren van de veehouderijsystemen van het eiland Santa Cruz (Galápagoseilanden, Ecuador) volgens de kenmerken van de wereldwijd gewaardeerde (sociaal en) ecologische systemen. Momenteel bestaan er twijfels over de duurzaamheid van de richtingen waarin deze sectoren zich ontwikkelen. De doelstelling van dit onderzoek is om de gefundeerde basis voor een herontwerp proces te creëren om de lokale pluimvee en varkenshouderij productiesystemen met een hoge mate van duurzaamheid (vanuit de ecologische en maatschappelijke standpunten) te kunnen ontwikkelen.Summary UK: This project has been articulated around the need to reorganize the local livestock production systems of the island of Santa Cruz (Galápagos islands, Ecuador) according to the characteristics of the globally respected (socio)ecological systems. This because there are some doubts about the sustainability of the current directions in which these production sectors are evolving. This research takes up the challenge to articulate the basis for a redesign process for the interactive visioning of local livestock (i.e., here pig and poultry) production systems that achieve a high degree of socioecological sustainability.This report can be downloaded for free at http://dx

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Galápagos Birds and Diseases: Invasive Pathogens as Threats for Island Species

Cited by 228 publications

References 32 publications

Abundance, biomass and energy use of native and alien breeding birds in Britain

Abundance, biomass and energy use of native and alien breeding birds in Britain

Threats from introduced birds to native birds

Towards locally adapted livestock production in the Galápagos islands : Characterizing & defining potential redesign strategies for the local poultry and pig production systems of Santa Cruz - Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

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