A review of commercial captive breeding of parrots as a supply-side intervention to address unsustainable trade

The volume and scale of commercial captive breeding of parrots have grown dramatically in recent decades. Although it has been proposed, and is often assumed, that captive breeding can reduce pressure on wild populations, there has been little scrutiny of the scale, viability, or impacts of captive breeding to prevent overexploitation among parrots, compared with similar approaches in other threatened taxa, such as pangolins or tigers. We reviewed the primary and gray literature to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate evidence concerning 5 criteria, established a priori, for commercial captive breeding of parrots as an effective supply-side intervention. We focused on a sample of 16 threatened parrot species that are heavily traded or for which unsustainable trade has been a factor in the decline of wild populations, representing a range of taxonomic groups, life histories, and native regions. We identified multiple major gaps in knowledge of the extent to which these criteria are met, including a lack of quantitative data on breeding productivity under current commercial breeding practices, the scale and scope of commercial breeding practices in growing parrot markets, particularly in the Middle East and Asia, and the lack of financial viability of captive breeding under effective regulation to prevent laundering or use of wild-sourced specimens as breeding stock. The capacity for captive breeding to displace demand for wild-sourced parrots varied between species, and complex interactions between trade in different species and contexts sometimes made consequences of commercial production difficult to predict. Decision makers and regulatory authorities should approach commercial captive breeding of parrots with caution and take into account knowledge gaps and cross-linkages between trade in different species to avoid unanticipated consequences from stimulating and facilitating unsustainable trade in wild-sourced parrots.

Image Classification of Amazon Parrots by Deep Learning: A Potentially Useful Tool for Wildlife Conservation

Simple Summary

Most parrot species are threatened with extinction because of habitat loss and commercial trade. Parrot conservation is vital because parrots play an important role in the ecosystem. The Amazon parrots are one of the most endangered parrot species. Monitoring their wild population and global trade is essential for their conservation. However, this is becoming more challenging because it requires manual analysis of large-scale image data. Furthermore, the morphological identification of the Amazon parrots can be difficult because they have similar morphological features. Deep learning-based object detection models are useful tools for monitoring wild populations and global trade. In this study, 26 Amazon parrot species were classified using eight object detection models. The object detection model, which showed the highest accuracy, classified the 26 Amazon parrot species at 90.7% on average. The continuous development of deep learning models for classifying Amazon parrots might help to improve the ability to monitor their wild populations and global trade.

Abstract

Parrots play a crucial role in the ecosystem by performing various roles, such as consuming the reproductive structures of plants and dispersing plant seeds. However, most are threatened because of habitat loss and commercial trade. Amazon parrots are one of the most traded and illegally traded parrots. Therefore, monitoring their wild populations and global trade is crucial for their conservation. However, monitoring wild populations is becoming more challenging because the manual analysis of large-scale datasets of images obtained from camera trap methods is labor-intensive and time consuming. Monitoring the wildlife trade is difficult because of the large quantities of wildlife trade. Amazon parrots can be difficult to identify because of their morphological similarity. Object detection models have been widely used for automatic and accurate species classification. In this study, to classify 26 Amazon parrot species, 8 Single Shot MultiBox Detector models were assessed. Among the eight models, the DenseNet121 model showed the highest mean average precision at 88.9%. This model classified the 26 Amazon parrot species at 90.7% on average. Continuous improvement of deep learning models classifying Amazon parrots may support monitoring wild populations and the global trade of these species.

Will Brazilian City Dwellers Actively Engage in Urban Conservation? A Case Study with the Charismatic Neotropical Blue-and-Yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna)

The Blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna) is a charismatic and easily recognized species. While they are classified as being of “least concern” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, their populations are declining. In Brazil, the accelerated destruction of one of its key habitats, the Cerrado biome, is a principal cause of their decreasing abundance. As with other species affected by loss of the Cerrado, active conservation measures are required. While usually rare in urban ecosystems, Ara ararauna occurs and breeds in small numbers in the city of Rondonópolis, a medium-sized city located in Mato Grosso, Central-West Region of Brazil. Blue-and-yellow macaw pairs nest in the tops of dead palm trees, but as the macaws are nest-site limited and suitable dead trees are scarce in urban areas, the installation of artificial nest sites in domestic backyards could help that urban population to thrive. To investigate whether local people would be willing to engage with conservation efforts and in particular to support macaw conservation, we surveyed the attitudes of Rondonópolis residents to measure: (1) citizens’ preferences among the bird species that occur in the city; (2) the average area of their yards, and (3) the willingness of residents to: (a) plant fruit trees to attract macaws to their yards and (b) to install artificial nests in their yards. Larger and more colorful birds (Ara ararauna, the Red-and-green macaw Ara chloropterus and Toco Toucan Ramphastos toco) were the bird species most valued across all socio-economic groups, suggesting that the charismatic species would be more likely to be supported by urbanites. Overall, people had good biodiversity knowledge, with respondents being able to identify half of our sample of local bird species, on average, and almost half had seen a nest site. The great majority were willing to plant fruit trees (78%) and provide nest sites (70%) for macaws. This willingness to engage was not affected by socioeconomic differences. These data indicate that a municipal macaw conservation program could be successful in Rondonópolis, and we argue that macaws could be a flagship species which would benefit wider efforts to engage Brazilian urbanites in active engagement with nature.

Confounding Rules Can Hinder Conservation: Disparities in Law Regulation on Domestic and International Parrot Trade within and among Neotropical Countries

Simple Summary

Wildlife trade represents one of the main causes of biodiversity loss worldwide. In an attempt to control this practice, both international and national legislation has been adopted to regulate trapping and trade in wild animals. For parrots, one of the most traded bird orders, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has regulated their international legal trade since 1975. However, wildlife regulations within Neotropical countries—the main sources for the past international trade—vary widely and differ from the international ones. This complex legislative framework translates into a lack of knowledge on the legal status of this activity in many countries, including within the scientific community. This confusion may be increasing the conservation problems of many vertebrate groups.

Abstract

Wildlife trade is a major driver of biodiversity loss worldwide. To regulate its impact, laws and regulations have been implemented at the international and national scales. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has regulated the international legal trade since 1975. However, an important volume of illegal trade—mainly within countries—continues to threaten several vertebrate groups, which could be due to a lack of specific legislation or enforcement of existing regulations. Our aim was to gain a more accurate picture of poaching and legal possession of native parrots as pets in the Neotropics, where illegal domestic trade is currently widespread. We conducted a systematic search of the laws of each of the 50 countries and overseas territories, taking into account their year of implementation and whether the capture, possession and/or sale of parrots is permitted. We compared this information with legal exports reported by CITES to assess differences between the enforcement of international and national trade regulations. We found that only two countries (Guyana and Suriname) currently allow the capture, trade and possession of native parrots, while Peru allowed international legal trade until recently. The other countries have banned parrot trade from years to decades ago. However, the timing of implementation of international and national trade regulations varied greatly between countries, with half of them continuing to export parrots legally years or decades after banning domestic trade. The confusion created by this complex legal system may have hindered the adoption of conservation measures, allowing poaching, keeping and trade of protected species within and between neighboring countries. Most countries legally exported Neotropical parrot species which were not native to those countries, indicating that trans-border smuggling often occurred between neighboring countries prior to their legal exportations, and that this illicit activity continues for the domestic trade. Governments are urged to effectively implement current legislation that prohibits the trapping and domestic trade of native parrots, but also to develop coordinated alliances and efforts to halt illegal trade among them. Otherwise, illegal trade will continue to erode the already threatened populations of a large number of parrot species across the Neotropics.

Assessing the Relative Impacts of Roadkill and Nest Poaching on the Population Viability of the Blue-and-Yellow Macaw, Ara ararauna (Aves: Psittaciformes), in a Brazilian National Park

The blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna) is suffering from higher roadkill rates (RK) at the Emas National Park (ENP), an important Brazilian National Park in the Cerrado biome. This species is also a victim of nest poaching for illegal trade. We modeled the blue-and-yellow macaw population’s viability in ENP and how this viability is affected by roadkill and nest poaching. We hereby report that the species is critically at risk and could be extinct in about a decade when considering both threats. Without considering any threat, 150 individuals are necessary to maintain a viable population. When individuals are harvested at a roadkill rate of 0.008 individuals/km/year and at twice this level, the viability figures increase to 4500 and 7500 birds, respectively. For nest poaching, we estimated that 2000 individuals are required to maintain a viable population. When both threats are present, 5000 individuals are necessary. The dynamics of the population are highly sensitive to the age at which females reproduce for the first time and the proportion of reproducing adult females, followed by the rate of adult survival. Our model demonstrates how even a non-threatened highly mobile species, such as the blue-and-yellow macaw, may be at risk due to human activities.

Contributions of Distribution Modelling to the Ecological Study of Psittaciformes

We provide an overview of the use of species distribution modeling to address research questions related to parrot ecology and conservation at a global scale. We conducted a literature search and applied filters to select the 82 most relevant studies to discuss. The study of parrot species distribution has increased steadily in the past 30 years, with methods and computing development maturing and facilitating their application for a wide range of research and applied questions. Conservation topics was the most popular topic (37%), followed by ecology (34%) and invasion ecology (20%). The role of abiotic factors explaining parrot distribution is the most frequent ecological application. The high prevalence of studies supporting on-ground conservation problems is a remarkable example of reduction in the research–action gap. Prediction of invasion risk and assessment of invasion effect were more prevalent than examples evaluating the environmental or economic impact of these invasions. The integration of species distribution models with other tools in the decision-making process and other data (e.g., landscape metrics, genetic, behavior) could even further expand the range of applications and provide a more nuanced understanding of how parrot species are responding to their even more changing landscape and threats.

When good attitudes are not enough: understanding intentions to keep yellow-shouldered Amazons as pets on Margarita Island, Venezuela

Unsustainable harvesting to supply the demand for pets is the second most significant threat to parrots (Psittacidae). Given that parrot keeping is widespread, in-depth and culturally sensitive research is needed to inform and develop interventions targeted at changing consumer preferences and purchasing behaviours. Parrot keeping is thought to be driven mainly by a desire for companionship (the affection hypothesis). Alternative hypotheses include a deeply ingrained culture of parrot ownership (the tradition hypothesis) or the influence of socio-economic context (the contextual hypothesis). We used the theory of planned behaviour to evaluate the relative importance of behavioural and contextual factors influencing the intention to keep the yellow-shouldered Amazon Amazona barbadensis as a pet. We interviewed 150 owners and non-owners of parrots in two locations in Macanao Peninsula, Margarita Island, Venezuela, where the primary population of this species is located. We found mixed evidence supporting both the affection and contextual hypotheses: intention to keep parrots was higher in non-owners with high education level, strong affective attitudes regarding human–animal relationships, and higher expectations about social norms (41% of explained variance). Our study expands previous research on the illegal parrot trade by taking into account behavioural measures beyond attitudes, highlighting the role of social norms frequently ignored in such research. We discuss how a behaviour change campaign could redirect affective attitudes in the human–parrot relationship, and promote new social norms that support parrot conservation. Future research should consider the inclusion of moral and injunctive norms, and monitoring of intervention effectiveness.

Roadside Car Surveys: Methodological Constraints and Solutions for Estimating Parrot Abundances across the World

Parrots stand out among birds because of their poor conservation status and the lack of available information on their population sizes and trends. Estimating parrot abundance is complicated by the high mobility, gregariousness, patchy distributions, and rarity of many species. Roadside car surveys can be useful to cover large areas and increase the probability of detecting spatially aggregated species or those occurring at very low densities. However, such surveys may be biased due to their inability to handle differences in detectability among species and habitats. We conducted 98 roadside surveys, covering > 57,000 km across 20 countries and the main world biomes, recording ca. 120,000 parrots from 137 species. We found that larger and more gregarious species are more easily visually detected and at greater distances, with variations among biomes. However, raw estimates of relative parrot abundances (individuals/km) were strongly correlated (r = 0.86–0.93) with parrot densities (individuals/km2) estimated through distance sampling (DS) models, showing that variability in abundances among species (>40 orders of magnitude) overcomes any potential detectability bias. While both methods provide similar results, DS cannot be used to study parrot communities or monitor the population trends of all parrot species as it requires a minimum of encounters that are not reached for most species (64% in our case), mainly the rarest and more threatened. However, DS may be the most suitable choice for some species-specific studies of common species. We summarize the strengths and weaknesses of both methods to guide researchers in choosing the best–fitting option for their particular research hypotheses, characteristics of the species studied, and logistical constraints.