Spatial, temporal and age sources of variation in parrot poaching in Bolivia

Abstract

SummaryParrot poaching and the subsequent illegal trade in the Neotropics are exacerbating the decline in parrot populations. Little is known, however, on where, when and how parrots are poached. The goals of this study were to identify the spatio-temporal patterns of parrot poaching in order to identify ways in which poaching could be reduced, using parrot data (9,013 individuals from 27 species) collected daily in a major illicit wildlife market in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, in 2005. Parrot data identified the individuals by species, age, date of arrival at market, and the poaching location. Parrot poaching strongly varied seasonally, with differences among municipalities, species, and age classes. While almost 90% of parrots were poached within a 234 km radius of the market, 84% originated from seven municipalities in which two of them accounted for 56% alone. With regard to species, six of the 27 market species accounted for nearly 90% of total individuals. A disproportionate share of parrots (47%) arrived between July and September. Poaching of adults and juveniles peaked however at different times of the year, offering valuable information for species where very little is known about their breeding phenology. Contrary to the idea that most parrot trade comes from nest poaching, most poached parrots (c.70%) were adults, which outnumbered juveniles in 21 out of the 26 native species. Therefore, the detrimental effects of parrot poaching are higher than simple trade numbers would suggest when considering that harvesting of adults has a stronger impact on the population viability and risk of extinction of long-lived species. Based on the findings, we recommend the allocation of police and conservation resources to patrol particular areas at particular times of the year in order to reduce the likelihood of poaching by species, age classes, and conservation status.

Cities may save some threatened species but not their ecological functions

“…On the other hand, the relative abundance in natural habitats of the Hispaniolan amazon resulted one to two orders of magnitude lower than that of two amazon species also listed by IUCN as Vulnerable, the red-spectacled amazon ( A. pretrei , ×109 times higher) and the vinaceus amazon ( A. vinacea , ×23 times higher), in the Atlantic Brazilian forests ( Tella et al, 2016b ). Even the blue-fronted amazon ( A. aestiva ) living in the inter-Andean valleys of Bolivia, where populations are suffering from strong poaching pressure for the domestic pet trade ( Pires, Herrera & Tella, 2016 ), showed a relative abundance 3.3 times higher ( Blanco et al, 2015 ) than the Hispaniolan amazon.…”

“…Parrots are long-lived species with slow reproduction rates ( Young et al, 2012 ), and thus the overharvesting of adults (through hunting and trapping) has a higher impact on population dynamics than nest poaching ( Pires, Herrera & Tella, 2016 ; Valle et al, 2018 ). Nest poaching to supply the pet trade has ancestral cultural roots in Hispaniola Island ( Wiley & Kirwan, 2013 ; White et al, 2011 ).…”

Revisiting methods for estimating parrot abundance and population size

“…Most parrots nest in elevated cavities in trees or cliffs that are difficult to find, reach, and monitor. Capturing parrots outside of their nests is challenging, since most species usually fly high over the canopy and avoid traps, although trapping can be successful at foraging sites (Pires et al 2016). Parrots typically have strong bills and can remove plastic bands or crush aluminium bands on their legs, leading to injuries.…”

Peer Review #1 of "Cities may save some threatened species but not their ecological functions (v0.1)"

“…On the other hand, the relative abundance in natural habitats of the Hispaniolan amazon resulted one to two orders of magnitude lower than that of two amazon species also listed by IUCN as Vulnerable, the red-spectacled amazon (Amazona pretrei, x109 times higher) and the vinaceus amazon (Amazona vinacea, x23 times higher), in the Atlantic Brazilian forests (Tella et al 2016b). Even the blue-fronted amazon (Amazona aestiva) living in the inter-Andean valleys of Bolivia, where populations are suffering from strong poaching pressure for the domestic pet trade (Pires et al 2016), showed a relative abundance 3.3 times higher than the Hispaniolan amazon.…”

“…Parrots are long-lived species with slow reproduction rates (Young et al 2012), and thus the overharvesting of adults (through hunting and trapping) has a higher impact on population dynamics than nest poaching (Pires et al 2016;Valle et al 2018). Nest poaching to supply the pet trade has ancestral cultural roots in Hispaniola Island (Wiley & Kirwan 2013;White et al 2011).…”