ORNITOLOGIA NEOTROPICAL 23: 107–112, 2012 © The Neotropical Ornithological Society CRITICAL PARAMETERS FOR PSITTACINE CONSERVATION: A SYMPOSIUM OVERVIEW Donald J. Brightsmith1 & Thomas H. White, Jr.2 1Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M Uni- versity, TAMU 4467, College Station, TX 77843-4467 USA. E-mail: [email protected] 2U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program, Box 1600, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico 00745. E-mail: [email protected] Key words: Psittacidae, population viability analysis, reintroduction, climate, abundance, reproduction INTRODUCTION thological theory and techniques do not always transfer or readily apply to members of this Birdlife International currently classifies 49 of avian taxon. Therefore, we developed a sym- the 155 known species of Neotropical psit- posium bringing together psittacine biologists tacines as threatened with extinction (Birdlife whom have developed novel and successful International 2012), making this one of the techniques for studying these birds. Indeed, most endangered bird families in the region. because of the special challenges posed by Further, over the past decade there has been psittacines, the information presented in this a substantial increase in research conducted symposium should also be useful for biologists on Neotropical psittacines, as evidenced by working on a wide array of ornithological taxa. numerous recent publications (e.g., Myers & Because of the inherent difficulties and as- Vaughan 2004, Renton 2004, Brightsmith et sociated expense of psittacine research, such al. 2005, White et al. 2005, Rodríguez-Castillo information should help improve both the fo- & Eberhard 2006, Sanz & Rodríguez-Ferraro cus and efficacy of current and future work, 2006, White et al. 2006, Koenig et al. 2007, thereby facilitating the efficient acquisition Nunes & Galetti 2007, Matuzak et al. 2008, of reliable knowledge. This point is particu- Monterubio-Rico et al. 2009, De Labra et al. larly relevant in times of economic difficul- 2010, Vigo et al. 2011, Carneiro et al. 2012, ties and uncertainties, as presently faced by and many others) as well as presentations at many – if not most – Neotropical ornithologi- the recent International Ornithological Con- cal researchers. Accordingly, this symposium gress (IOC) in Brazil. consisted of presentations which provided Nevertheless, specific knowledge regard- a pragmatic synthesis of the latest available ing the key parameters necessary to promote information on what are currently some of successful parrot conservation remains yet elu- the most relevant research and conservation sive. As a group, psittacines are generally non- issues in psittacine conservation, such as the territorial, flocking, canopy dwelling species use of population viability models to identify that present unique challenges to researchers the most important life history parameters for and managers. Consequently, traditional orni- survival and recovery of wild psittacine popu- 107 BRIGHTSMITH1 & WHITE, JR. lations, the most effective methods to esti- cen exitosamente cada año. Como otros psi- mate critical parameters such as reproductive tácidos con ciclos de vida caracterizados por success and population density, the effects of la baja fecundidad, la alta sobrevivencia anual global climate change on population dynamics, de adultos y la alta longevidad, estas especies and how to promote parrot conservation by se verán beneficiados por acciones de manejo maximizing the success of psittacine captive enfocadas a que haya suficientes nidos y estén release and reintroduction projects. protegidos, así como a evitar la cacería de adul- tos y controlar las especies invasoras. El mod- RESULTS elaje de poblaciones de psitácidos mediante Vortex ofrece la posibilidad de entender mejor The symposium took place 11 November 2011 la relación entre los diferentes parámetros in- at the Centro de Convenciones in Cusco, Peru trínsecos y extrínsecos que las gobiernan, así and consisted of the following 5 presentations como determinar las acciones más adecuadas and associated speakers/institutions, including para su recuperación y sobrevivencia. a brief summary of each: 2. Estimating reproductive success in 1. ¿ Cuáles son las variables que real- large parrots: advantages and dis- mente importan?: lecciones del advantages of direct versus indirect modelaje de Ara macao y Ara am- methods.—Donald Brightsmith/ biguus con Vortex.—Juan Cornejo/ Texas A&M University, USA Texas A&M University, USA Summary: Reproductive success is a funda- Summary: Vortex es un programa de simu- mental parameter for any animal population, lación estocástico para el análisis de viabilidad especially those with inherently low reproduc- de poblaciones, con el que se modelan las in- tive rates, such as “large” parrots (e.g., Ara teracciones entre parámetros poblacionales spp.). Changes in reproductive success may y biológicos de la especie elegida. El modelo portend significant changes in population tra- permite probar los efectos de diferentes esce- jectory and species ecology, yet are notoriously narios en la tasa de crecimiento o en el riesgo difficult to accurately assess for large parrots. de extinción de una población en un deter- Direct methods such as active nest-checks are minado periodo de tiempo, y de esta manera commonly employed, and have advantages of comparar y determinar las mejores opciones providing insights into causes of nest failures, de manejo. Mediante un análisis de sensibili- chick health and growth rates, and reductions dad podemos explorar el efecto relativo de los in poaching by active protection. However, diferentes parámetros en el comportamiento such methods are also labor intensive (i.e., del modelo, identificando los más críticos, y expensive), time-consuming, require special- así poder determinar las prioridades de inves- ized equipment, and may alter nest success tigación de aquellos en los que existan incerti- due to disturbance. We examined the use of dumbres. Los análisis realizados de la viabili- indirect methods, such as group size counts, dad de la población de la guacamaya roja (Ara for assessing reproductive success in Scarlet macao cyanoptera) en Guatemala, y de la guaca- Macaws (Ara macao) in southeastern Peru. We maya verde (Ara ambiguus) en Costa Rica, iden- found that these methods have the advantages tificaron que los factores biológicos con mayor of lower costs, are not biased by nest type, do impacto sobre su sobrevivencia son la tasa de not disturb active nesting efforts, and provide mortalidad de adultos (en especial de las hem- reasonable estimates of the proportion of the bras), y el porcentaje de hembras que reprodu- breeding population. Notwithstanding, such 108 CRITICAL PARAMETERS FOR PSITTACINE CONSERVATION: A SYMPOSIUM OVERVIEW methods may not work for all species, and 4. Psittacine reintroductions: common have an inherent bias because the numbers of denominators of success. – Thomas non-family groups are difficult to ascertain. White/United States Fish & Wildlife Nevertheless, in situations where parrots con- Service, Puerto Rico gregate regularly in flocks, indirect methods Summary: With 28% of the 350 species can be a valuable tool for estimating nesting of parrots considered threatened, numerous success, percent of females nesting, percent of conservation efforts have been initiated for young in the local population, and for rapidly these species. As example, the restoration or detecting cases of complete or near-complete establishment of new populations has increas- nesting failures. ingly relied on reintroductions as a conserva- 3. The importance of inter-annual vari- tion strategy, often with mixed or inconclusive ability due to climatic factors on results. This study (see White et al. 2012) ex- breeding success: the case of the amined the results and methodologies of 47 Burrowing Parrots of Patagonia and distinct releases and reintroductions of psit- the El Niño Southern Oscillation.— tacines in nine different countries worldwide Juan Masello/Max Planck Institute over the past 25 years to identify common of Ornithology, Germany denominators of successful efforts. To do so, researchers established a uniform and objec- Summary: The El Niño Southern Oscilla- tive definition of reintroduction success (first- tion is an irregular and recurrent climatic and year survival > 0.50 and released birds breed- meteorological phenomenon that has diverse ing with conspecifics, either captive-reared or and profound effects on both global and lo- wild), and applied generalized linear models cal weather patterns. In this study, the effects and information-theoretic model selection to of this phenomenon on breeding success of identify significant predictor variables. Several Burrowing Parrots (Cyanoliseus patagonus) in likely predictors of successful psittacine re- the Argentinean Patagonia were examined. El introductions were identified. Among these, Niño events resulted in substantial increases predation and predation mitigation had the in precipitation and primary productivity dur- greatest influence on reintroduction success, ing the parrot nesting season (Oct–Feb), with with habitat quality at the release site and post- concomitant and significant shifts in mean release food supplementation exhibiting lesser, hatching dates, brood size, and fledglings pro- but nevertheless significant, effects on success. duced. Overall, Burrowing Parrots nested ear- The study also introduced SWOT analysis,