Status and distribution of the endemic Bali starling Leucopsar rothschildi

Balen, S. van; Dirgayusa, I Wayan A.; Putra, I Made Wedana Adi; Prins, Herbert H. T.

doi:10.1017/s0030605300031185

Cited by 16 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The combined evidence suggests that songbird trapping levels in China are currently unsustainable and that trapping at least partly contributed to the decline. There are numerous, but relatively uncommon or range-restricted species whose populations declined rapidly due to increasing trade or consumption in Asia (van Balen et al 2000;Liu & Weng 2014). However, a collapse in such an extraordinarily populous species as the Yellow-breasted Bunting, whose range stretched over an entire continent, is similar in extent to the demise of the Passenger Pigeon.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global population collapse in a superabundant migratory bird and illegal trapping in China

Kamp

Oppel

Ananin

et al. 2015

Conservation Biology

123

106

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Persecution and overexploitation by humans are major causes of species extinctions. Rare species, often confined to small geographic ranges, are usually at highest risk, whereas extinctions of superabundant species with very large ranges are rare. The Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) used to be one of the most abundant songbirds of the Palearctic, with a very large breeding range stretching from Scandinavia to the Russian Far East. Anecdotal information about rapid population declines across the range caused concern about unsustainable trapping along the species' migration routes. We conducted a literature review and used long-term monitoring data from across the species' range to model population trend and geographical patterns of extinction. The population declined by 84.3-94.7% between 1980 and 2013, and the species' range contracted by 5000 km. Quantitative evidence from police raids suggested rampant illegal trapping of the species along its East Asian flyway in China. A population model simulating an initial harvest level of 2% of the population, and an annual increase of 0.2% during the monitoring period produced a population trajectory that matched the observed decline. We suggest that trapping strongly contributed to the decline because the consumption of Yellow-breasted Bunting and other songbirds has increased as a result of economic growth and prosperity in East Asia. The magnitude and speed of the decline is unprecedented among birds with a comparable range size, with the exception of the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), which went extinct in 1914 due to industrial-scale hunting. Our results demonstrate the urgent need for an improved monitoring of common and widespread species' populations, and consumption levels throughout East Asia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global population collapse in a superabundant migratory bird and illegal trapping in China

Kamp

Oppel

Ananin

et al. 2015

Conservation Biology

123

106

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“…Hunting is now a major cause of biotic population declines across the tropics 6 , and, in hunted forests, has caused declines of 58 and 83% in bird and mammal populations, respectively 7 . Illegal hunting of wildlife for internationally traded products, pets and as a food resource are directly responsible for the declines of emblematic species, such as elephant 8 , rhinoceros 9 , tiger 10 , and Bali starling 11 . At its most extreme, overhunting can result in the extinction of large-bodied animals in otherwise healthy intact habitat 12 , driving changes in forest composition 13 – 15 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined impacts of deforestation and wildlife trade on tropical biodiversity are severely underestimated

et al. 2018

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Tropical forest diversity is simultaneously threatened by habitat loss and exploitation for wildlife trade. Quantitative conservation assessments have previously considered these threats separately, yet their impacts frequently act together. We integrate forest extent maps in 2000 and 2015 with a method of quantifying exploitation pressure based upon a species’ commercial value and forest accessibility. We do so for 308 forest-dependent bird species, of which 77 are commercially traded, in the Southeast Asian biodiversity hotspot of Sundaland. We find 89% (274) of species experienced average habitat losses of 16% and estimate exploitation led to mean population declines of 37%. Assessing the combined impacts of deforestation and exploitation indicates the average losses of exploited species are much higher (54%), nearly doubling the regionally endemic species (from 27 to 51) threatened with extinction that should be IUCN Red Listed. Combined assessment of major threats is vital to accurately quantify biodiversity loss.

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“…Shepherd 2007, 2010, Harris et al 2016), including species not currently red listed (Harris et al 2015). In extreme cases this is best exemplified by the ‘Critically Endangered’ Bali Starling Leucopsar rothschildi , which is nearly extinct and the only wild populations originate from reintroduced stock (van Balen et al 2000, Brook and Sodhi 2006). In another example, the Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush Garrulax rufifrons has declined so rapidly that it is now extirpated from the majority of sites where it once occurred (Eaton et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Significance of the globally threatened Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus populations in Singapore: a last straw for the species?

Yong

Lim²,

Lim³

et al. 2017

Bird Conservation International

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SummaryThe globally threatened Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus is one of South-East Asia’s most imperilled songbirds due to the surging demand for the species in the regional bird trade. Recently uplisted from Vulnerable to Endangered, populations of the Straw-headed Bulbul have been extirpated from Java, Thailand and possibly Sumatra while those in Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia are in decline. Intriguingly, a significant yet rarely documented population of this species persists in Singapore. A major stronghold in Singapore is Ubin Island where a population is known since the 1920s. Using a long-term citizen science dataset rarely available for South-East Asian bird species, we determined the status and population trends of the Straw-headed Bulbul in Singapore over a 10–15 year period using Poisson regression models and standardised population indices. We found that the Straw-headed Bulbul population has increased at a rate of 3.69 ± 1.21% per annum on Ubin Island, while the population on Singapore Island remained stable (0.56% per annum) from 2000 to 2016. The population trends in Singapore contrast starkly with the declines reported elsewhere in South-East Asia. We estimated the population in Singapore to be a minimum of 202 individuals, distributed over multiple forest patches. The largest subpopulation of about 110 adult individuals persists on Ubin and which alone forms between 6.5–18.3% of the estimated global population in 2016. Given this unique situation, we recommend a number of conservation measures for the Straw-headed Bulbul to better protect the species, including: (1) an expansion of the protected area network in Singapore to include Ubin as a reserve, (2) the development of an endangered species management plan and, (3) the establishment of ex-situ conservation programmes in zoological institutions and wildlife centres in the region.

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Status and distribution of the endemic Bali starling Leucopsar rothschildi

Cited by 16 publications

References 6 publications

Global population collapse in a superabundant migratory bird and illegal trapping in China

Global population collapse in a superabundant migratory bird and illegal trapping in China

Combined impacts of deforestation and wildlife trade on tropical biodiversity are severely underestimated

Significance of the globally threatened Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus populations in Singapore: a last straw for the species?

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