What Makes a Good Alien? Dealing with the Problems of Non-Native Wildfowl Tony (A
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What makes a good alien? Dealing with the problems of non-native wildfowl Tony (A. D.) Fox Mandarin Ducks Aix galericulata Richard Allen ABSTRACT Humans have been introducing species outside their native ranges as a source of food for thousands of years, but introductions of wildfowl have increased dramatically since the 1700s.The most serious consequence of this has been the extinction of endemic forms as a result of hybridisation, although competition between alien and native forms may also contribute to species loss. Globally, non-native wildfowl have yet to cause major disruption to ecosystem functions; introduce new diseases and parasites; cause anything other than local conflicts to agricultural and economic interests; or create major health and safety issues in ways that differ from native forms. The fact that this has not happened is probably simply the result of good fortune, however, since many introduced plants and animals have had huge consequences for ecosystems and human populations.The potential cost of greater environmental and economic damage, species extinction, and threats to the genetic and species diversity of native faunas means that we must do all we can to stop the deliberate or accidental introduction of species outside their natural range. International legislation to ensure this is remarkably good, but domestic law is generally weak, as is the political will to enforce such regulations.The case of the Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis in Europe will show whether control of a problem taxon can be achieved and underlines the financial consequences of dealing with introduced aliens.This paper was originally presented as the 58th Bernard Tucker Memorial Lecture to the Oxford Ornithological Society and the Ashmolean Natural History Society, in November 2008. 660 © British Birds 102 • December 2009 • 660–679 What makes a good alien? here is nothing new about aliens – we cereals (Harding 2000), introduced from the have been living among them in Britain ‘fertile crescent’ of modern-day Israel, Lebanon, Tfor a very long time. But fear not, we are parts of Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, southeast not talking about creatures from outer space! Turkey and southwest Iran, where these species Here, I define an alien as ‘a group of individuals originated. The Romans brought apples Malus of a species, subspecies or population that domestica (a vast improvement on native crab would not occur in an area without interference apples M. sylvestris), sweet chestnuts Castanea from humans’. This definition therefore sativa, cherries Prunus spp. (introduced to includes species like the Mallard Anas Britain between 68 and 42 years BC; Pliny 1601) platyrhynchos, which can represent a threat to and the jungle fowl Gallus gallus, which gave their own native integrity through introgression rise to modern chickens. They probably also from domestic or other non-native forms. brought Rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus and Using this definition, humans have been cre- Common Pheasants Phasianus colchicus, which ating alien species for many thousands of years. we now know to be readily self-supporting in Initially, the process was driven by the simple the wild in Britain. Much later, Europeans need for food. The change from an essentially explored the globe, bringing more exotic food hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a sedentary existence items back to Europe including, most notably, required becoming highly adept at plant and the potato Solanum tuberosum agg., cultivated animal husbandry, to provide food. This relied in South America for some 7,000 years and upon cultivation of non-native alien forms brought to the Canary Islands around 1562 imported outside their normal biogeographic (Hawkes & Francisco-Ortega 1993). Not all ranges. Hull-less six-rowed barleys Hordeum aliens could thrive without human help to tip vulgare were first introduced to Britain around the balance of competitive interactions with 3,000 years BC (Clark 1967) and, by the Bronze native forms. Even so, all are good reminders of Age, spelt Triticum spelta and emmer wheat T. our long history in the introduction business dicoccon were the most commonly cultivated and the reliance upon aliens for food. Simon Stirrup 429. Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus, Norfolk, December 2006. Domesticated Egyptian Geese constituted the most important source of bird meat on tables in Egypt until about 2,300 years BC (Kear 1990). Not until the recently acquired habit of foraging on silage clamps became widespread did this alien species begin to appear in European farmyards. British Birds 102 • December 2009 • 660–679 661 What makes a good alien? What creates an alien in the first place? in the mid 1500s, reaching Britain somewhat Ducks, geese and swans (the Anatidae) were later in the following century (Donkin 1989). among our earliest and most successful Some alien Anatidae species were therefore rela- attempts at domestication to produce tame tively easy to domesticate and rear in captivity flesh. The Greylag Goose Anser anser was one of and were thus quick to attain importance in the the very first birds known to be domesticated, staple diet of many human societies, making some 5,000 years ago (Sossinka 1982), and is them a familiar feature of Britain and much of the source of modern farmyard geese and the Europe by the early eighteenth century. rich spoken tradition of stories and nursery But alien wildfowl really started to take off in rhymes that involve this familiar domesticated the philanthropic years of the mid 1700s, when bird (Kear 1990). The Swan Goose A. cygnoides some Europeans could suddenly travel on their of eastern Asia was also probably domesticated new-found wealth and engaged their curiosity for food at a very early stage (Crawford 1984). in finding out about the great diversity of the In all likelihood, Mallards were also brought globe. This was the time of the great British into domestication long ago in many parts of estates, when landowners wished to show off the Old World, given the wide range of Mallard- their wealth and power with impressive land- type breeds now in existence. Egyptian Geese scaped gardens and lakes, the period when Alopochen aegyptiaca were the primary source Lancelot (‘Capability’) Brown created over 170 of avian food for the Egyptians until about exotic country gardens, complete with serpen- 2,300 years BC, finally disappearing as farm tine lakes and landscaped ponds (Turner 1999), animals only after Egypt was conquered by the complemented by stocks of exotic wildfowl. The Persians in 525 BC (Kear 1990). Farmyards were grounds of Holkham Hall, Norfolk, for therefore free of this species until free-flying example, were laid out by Brown in 1762, when naturalised birds began to forage on silage Egyptian and Canada Geese Branta clamps in Europe in recent years. The first canadensis/hutchinsii were introduced immedi- exotic wildfowl species to be introduced into ately. As Janet Kear remarked: ‘wildfowl in cap- Europe must have been the Muscovy Duck tivity look better than other birds’; they seem to Cairina moschata, which was already widely adapt well to such conditions and many species kept throughout South America and the West breed and thrive under a variety of conditions Indies when the Conquistadores reached the (Kear 1990). The Holkham Egyptian and New World; birds were brought back to Spain Canada Geese reproduced, and unpinioned, Rebecca Nason 430. Greylag Geese Anser anser, Suffolk, May 2008. Greylag Geese were among the very first domesticated birds some 5,000 years ago (Sossinka 1982), as well as the source of many modern ‘farmyard geese’ and the rich spoken tradition of stories and nursery rhymes that involve this familiar bird (Kear 1990). 662 British Birds 102 • December 2009 • 660–679 What makes a good alien? free-flying offspring dispersed to become some cessfully self-replicating alien replacement for of the first free-flying alien wildfowl in the UK. the Greylag Goose (likely extirpated from much It was a time when it was fashionable to possess of Britain by exploitation in earlier times), was the most recently discovered representatives of able to exploit the niche of a large avian herbi- exotic floras and faunas of foreign shores. vore without serious competitors in an increas- Canada Geese from the New World were intro- ingly favourable agricultural environment. duced to many a country estate, as were Black Elsewhere, Mallards have been introduced Swans Cygnus atratus from the very far reaches throughout most of the world at some time, of the Empire (imagine the novelty value in a driven by the species’ familiarity to Europeans continent with swans only of the very purest as they themselves colonised much of the globe. white!). Later, people could afford to enjoy the In this way, the species was introduced into ornamental beauty of wildfowl in the form of New Zealand by the ‘acclimatisation societies’ bright and exotic species, such as the Mandarin there, in an attempt to make their new home Duck Aix galericulata, which has now been kept feel more familiar by the presence of such Euro- in captivity for many decades and (as a frequent pean taxa – together with the non-European deliberate or unintentional escape) has now Canada Goose (which is now also among the established feral populations in several Euro- most common birds in that country), brought pean countries. The Canada Goose was also in as quarry by hunter associations. found to be a good quarry species and, as a suc- More recently still, the expansion of private Box 1. What do we mean by an alien and how big is the problem? The working definition of an alien adopted for this paper is simple – it is a species, subspecies or geographically discrete population that would not occur in a specific geographical area without interference by humans. In reality this may mean: a taxon (i) introduced as a breeding bird to a region where it formerly occurred only outside the breeding season; (ii) one introduced entirely from outside its previous known range; (iii) one imported in captivity outside its normal range and allowed to escape; and (iv) domesticated taxa that have established themselves in the wild (Owen et al.