1 the Bird Trade in Taiwan
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The bird trade in Taiwan: an analysis of an Eastern pathway to biological invasion Shan Su Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment UCL University College London Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of University College London March 2016 1 This thesis is the result of my own work. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Shan Su 2016 2 Acknowledgements I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my supervisor Professor Tim Blackburn for his knowledgeable advice, encouragement and extraordinary support throughout this project; in particular I thank him for introducing me to the birding world. I also thank Dr Phillip Cassey for his expert contributions and simulating suggestions, and especially for giving me the opportunity to work as a visiting researcher in Adelaide. Without their supervision and help, this thesis would not have been possible. I also thank Professor Helen Chatterjee and Dr Samuel Turvey for their support and professional guidance. I would like to thank my colleague Dr Ellie Dyer, who helped me to develop GIS skills and kindly shared her knowledge of bird invasions and analysis. She also helped me through difficult times in research and in life. I would like to thank the Cassey Invasion Ecology Group, in particular Dr Miquel Vall-llosera for sharing his coloration data and helpful comments on my Chapter 4, and Talia Wittmann for helping me to solve mapping problems. Furthermore, I would like to thank Dr Xavier Harrison and Dr Henry Ferguson-Gow for their help in coding, Andrew Jacobson, Dr Chris Yesson and Dr Tsai-Yu Wu for developing my knowledge in niche modelling and mapping software, and Dr Richard Pearson for important advice about niche modelling. I thank Bea Alying, Dr Shang-Pei Chung, Dr Szymon Daraszewicz, Dr Xiao-Hang Tao and Dr Tai-Yuan Su for their company during my fieldwork. I also thank Mr William Chi, Dr Tzong-Su Ding, Mr Yi-Shen Ho, Mr Kuan-Chieh Hung, Yu- Xuan Jiang, Dr Ruey-Shing Lin, Dr Da-Li Lin, Dr Chie-Jen Ko, Dr Bao-Sen Shieh, Mr Qian- Zhong Sha, Dr Ying Wang, Dr Shen-Horn Yen, Liao-Fan Yen, Professor Hsiao-Wei Yuan and Mr Z. (who would like to stay anonymous) for kindly sharing their opinions on alien species and pet trade studies. I also would like to acknowledge the Chinese Wild Bird Federation, Wild Bird Society of Taipei and Breeding Bird Survey Taiwan team for their support by kindly sharing their database. I would like to express my special thanks to Dr Szymon Daraszewicz for code correction and help throughout my project. This project would have been impossible without the financial support of the Zoological Society of London and my family. Last but with greatest appreciation, I would like to express my gratitude to my dad Dr Wan-Fong Su, my mum Shu-Yin Chou, my brother Dr Tai-Yuan Su and my sister Chia-Ying Su for their unconditional support and love. 3 Abstract The subject of this thesis is the bird trade as a pathway for invasions by alien species to the East Asian island nation of Taiwan. Most previous studies have considered bird invasions in a Western context, but cultural differences imply that drivers of human-mediated invasions in Eastern societies are likely to be different. Therefore, I analyse patterns in the composition of traded alien bird species in Taiwan, and identify characteristics associated with success or failure at different stages of the invasion pathway. Data on the identities, numbers and prices of birds in the Taiwanese cage bird trade were obtained from non-structured interviews with bird shop owners and employees, as described in Chapter 2. In chapter 3, I showed that species with larger native range size, smaller body size, with songs attractive to people, and native to closer regions, are more likely to be traded in Taiwan. In chapter 4, I explore the determinants of the price of bird species for sale in Taiwan, as a proxy for assessing which species in trade are more likely to be introduced into the wild. Chapter 5 analyses characteristics associated with species success in introduction and establishment. Alien species commonly for sale, sold for a longer period in the trade and with attractive songs were more likely to be introduced. Successfully established alien species are also likely to be large-bodied. Chapter 6 explores the important role of environmental suitability in alien environments in establishment success. In addition, I show that species with larger native range sizes tend to have larger alien range sizes in Taiwan. Overall, the results here show that bird species composition for sale in Taiwan is determined by the interaction of species availability and societal demands. The thesis concludes with some suggestions for the current market and future studies. 4 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... 3 Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 4 Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. 5 List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ 8 List of Tables ........................................................................................................................ 10 Attribution ............................................................................................................................ 12 Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 13 1.1 Introduction to Invasion Biology ........................................................................... 13 1.1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 13 1.1.2 The Definitions of Invasion and the Invasion Pathway ...................................... 14 1.1.3 Transport and Introduction ................................................................................. 18 1.1.4 Establishment and Spread ................................................................................. 20 1.2 Potential Drivers of Eastern Invasions ................................................................. 22 1.3 Taiwan as a Case Study of Eastern Pathways to Invasion ................................. 26 Chapter 2 Methods .......................................................................................................... 31 2.1 Data Collection ........................................................................................................ 31 2.1.1 Pet Shops Surveys ............................................................................................ 31 2.1.2 Semi-Structured Questionnaires for Pet Shops in Pilot Study ........................... 32 2.1.3 Strategy and Data Limitations ............................................................................ 33 2.1.4 Species Identification ......................................................................................... 34 2.1.5 Literature Data ................................................................................................... 35 Chapter 3 Transport: Patterns of Non-randomness in the Composition and Characteristics of the Taiwanese Bird Trade .................................................................... 37 3.1 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 37 3.2 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 37 3.3 Method ..................................................................................................................... 41 3.3.1 Data ................................................................................................................... 41 5 3.3.2 Analysis .............................................................................................................. 42 3.4 Results ..................................................................................................................... 43 3.5 Discussion ............................................................................................................... 48 Chapter 4 Determinants of Bird Price in the Taiwanese Pet Market .......................... 55 4.1 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 55 4.2 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 56 4.3 Method ..................................................................................................................... 58 4.3.1 Data ................................................................................................................... 58 4.3.2 Analysis .............................................................................................................. 60 4.4 Results ..................................................................................................................... 61 4.5 Discussion ............................................................................................................... 70 4.5.1 Implications .......................................................................................................