View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Archive Ouverte en Sciences de l'Information et de la Communication The red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) : serious pest or understudied invader? Martin Thibault, Eric Vidal, Murray A. Potter, Ellie Dyer, Fabrice Brescia To cite this version: Martin Thibault, Eric Vidal, Murray A. Potter, Ellie Dyer, Fabrice Brescia. The red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) : serious pest or understudied invader?. Biological Invasions, Springer Verlag, 2018, 20 (1), pp.121-136. 10.1007/s10530-017-1521-2. hal-01789436 HAL Id: hal-01789436 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01789436 Submitted on 2 Apr 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. DOI 10.1007/s10530-017-1521-2 The red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer): serious pest or understudied invader? Martin Thibault . Eric Vidal . Murray A. Potter . Ellie Dyer . Fabrice Brescia Received: 28 December 2016 / Accepted: 23 July 2017 Abstract Recently, debate has flourished about for future research. We reviewed the scientific liter- inadequacies in the simplistic ‘‘worst invasive spe- ature and information from three databases (ABBA, cies’’ approach and its global scale. Here we investi- GAVIA, eBird) and highlight that the attention paid to gate the status of the red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus this species by scientists and managers varied consid- cafer), an Asian passerine bird. This species has been erably between islands and contexts and was globally introduced widely across Pacific islands and is com- lower than the attention paid to other species on the monly blamed for its impacts on agriculture and IUCN-ISSG list. The red-vented bulbul has now biodiversity via dispersal of invasive plant seeds and established on 37 islands and in seven continental competition with native fauna. This case study eval- locations outside its native range. We show that three uates all available data on the impacts and manage- categories of effects are associated with this species: ment of this invasive species and identifies priorities plant damage, seed dispersal and disturbance of fauna. We compiled lists of 110 plant species consumed, 33 plant species dispersed, and 15 species of bird that this Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10530-017-1521-2) contains supple- bulbul interacts with. However, these lists were mentary material, which is available to authorized users. mainly made of opportunistic observations rather than specific assessments. Research outputs that focus on & M. Thibault ( ) Á F. Brescia better ways to prevent or quantify the impacts of the Institut Agronomique ne´o-Cale´donien (IAC), Equipe ARBOREAL (AgricultuRE BiOdiversite´ Et vAlorisation), red-vented bulbul remain scarce. We found very few 73, 98890 Paı¨ta, New Caledonia references exploring potential positive impacts of this e-mail: [email protected] species, and only two examples of management actions undertaken against it. The latter are required E. Vidal Institut Me´diterrane´en de Biodiversite´ et d’Ecologie to inform management actions, especially on sensitive marine et continentale (IMBE), CNRS, IRD, Avignon tropical islands where invasions and dispersal of the Universite´ Centre IRD Noume´a, Aix Marseille Universite´, red-vented bulbul are ongoing. Our analysis of the BP A5, 98848 Noume´a Cedex, New Caledonia literature found no clear support for considering this M. Thibault Á M. A. Potter species to be one of the ‘‘world’s worst’’ invasive alien Ecology Group, Institute of Agriculture and Environment, species. Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand Keywords Invasive alien bird Á Islands Á Impact Á E. Dyer Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Biodiversity Á Conservation Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RY, UK 2 M. Thibault et al. Introduction contrast to alien birds (Pysˇek et al. 2008; Kumschick and Nentwig 2010). Several studies have called for Invasive alien species (IAS) are one of the main causes improvements in the way in which impact values of of biodiversity loss (Sala et al. 2000; Keane and IAS are assessed beyond experts’ ‘‘worst’’ lists, Crawley 2002; Pereira et al. 2012; Gren et al. 2016), particularly for bird species (Strubbe et al. 2011; with associated economic impacts (Bergman et al. Ricciardi et al. 2013; Kumschick et al. 2015 ; Saxena 2000; Pimentel et al. 2005; Pimentel 2011) and 2015) and they have stressed that this is vital to better degradation of ecosystem services (Walsh et al. inform management decisions. 2016). The highly ambitious goal of the 2010 The three bird species classified as the world’s Convention for Biological Diversity, Nagoya, Japan, worst invasive species in the IUCN-ISSG list are the was to ensure that ‘‘By 2020, IAS and pathways are common starling (Sturnus vulgaris), the common identified and prioritized, priority species are con- myna (Acridotheres tristis), and the red-vented bulbul trolled or eradicated, and measures are in place to (Pycnonotus cafer). A recent review of the impact of manage pathways to prevent their introduction and alien birds on native ecosystems globally (Martin- establishment’’ (Secretariat CBD 2010). Concerns Albarracin et al. 2015) identified the three species with about the impacts of IAS have led to the production the highest global impact as being the mallard (Anas of several lists of high priority alien species including platyrhynchos, score = 16), the common myna the ‘‘100 of the World’s Worst’’ from the IUCN (score = 13), and the red-whiskered bulbul (Pycnono- Invasive Species Specialist Group (IUCN-ISSG) tus jocusus, score = 10) whereas the global impact (Brochier et al. 2010; Burgiel and Perrault 2011; score of the red-vented bulbul in this study should be Lowe et al. 2000). Such prioritization attempts have only 4. Recently, Kumschick et al. (2015) identified incited intense debate among the scientific community important overlaps in the impacts associated with the on the definition of an invasive species (e.g. Russell common myna and the red-vented bulbul. This raises and Blackburn 2017). Some considered invasion as a the question as to whether the red-vented bulbul natural phenomenon and compared the prevention of should be considered as one of the three worst invasive ´ species dispersal as a kind of racism (Valery et al. bird species on the planet. Local farmers and envi- 2013). Others saw the observed impacts of alien ronment managers need management frameworks in species as an important challenge for our developing order to deal with the dispersal/impacts of IAS societies (Richardson and Ricciardi 2013; Simberloff (Blackburn et al. 2011). Biosecurity protocols at and Vitule. 2014; Blondel et al. 2014; Pereyra 2016). frontiers were demonstrated to be the most useful Such debate also applied to species classification techniques to prevent biological invasions (Edelaar methods, as prioritization attempts based on expert and Tella 2012). However, controlling a newly assessments is opposed to different classification established invasive species in a territory depends on frameworks based on data analysis and statistics economic, ecological and social factors and therefore (Donlan and Wilcox 2008; Kumschick et al. 2012; on specific assessment of these factors at local scales Blackburn et al. 2014; Kumschick et al. 2015). In this (Mack et al. 2000). A synthesis of management study, we consider that an alien species expanding its programs toward an alien species offers concrete range in a sensitive territory deserves particular baselines for managers, and this knowledge also helps attention from both scientists and managers. For their understanding how the impacts associated with an part, scientists must consider the possibility that a invasive species give rise to management operations. species could be harmless in an alien territory and It is urgent that we review existing assessments of should produce a local assessment of potential issues impacts and management programs implemented associated with that species. against the red-vented bulbul. Of the terrestrial vertebrates in the IUCN-ISSG list, We review invasion data to determine the nature 14 are mammals, three are birds and only two are and severity of the impacts of this species, whether its reptiles (Lowe et al. 2000). Unsurprisingly, 10 years impacts are consistent throughout its alien range, after the publication of this ‘‘World’s Worst’’ list, whether its status as a major invasive species has led to authors have commented on the imbalance in attention more research and management programs at local paid by scientists and managers to mammals in scales, and to assess if its current acknowledged pest The red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) status is deserved. We present an updated assessment species names listed in the IUCN ‘‘World’s Worst’’ of an invasive species nearly 110 years after it was list in Google Scholar. first record outside of its native range (Fiji in 1903, In order to update distribution maps, we included Watling 1978) and identify priorities for future records from three international databases. We used research. the 252 quotations with references from the Global AVian Invasion Atlas Project (GAVIA, Dyer et al. 2017), 150 sightings from the Atlas of Breeding Birds Methods of Arabia (ABBA, Ornithological Society of the Middle East, Jennings 2010) and 40,152 sightings Species description from the participative eBird database (eBird, Sullivan et al. 2009). Maps were designed using the following The red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer Linnaeus, R software packages: maps (Becker et al. 2015a), 1766) is a passerine belonging to the family Pyc- mapdata (Becker et al.