Bridled Quail-doveGeotrygon mystaceapopulation assessment after hurricanes Irma and Maria, St. Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands

Abstract

Summary Structural vegetation damage and food limitation are important effects of major hurricanes, particularly for fruit/seed-eating, forest-dependent Caribbean birds with restricted distributions and small populations, such as the Bridled Quail-dove Geotrygon mystacea. Motivated by the lack of abundance estimates, corrected for detection probability, we conducted distance-sampling surveys inside and outside the Quill National Park each May in 2016-2019. Detection mode was the most important covariate, with others receiving no support from the data. Detectability of available single individuals and clusters of individuals within 60 m of transect centrelines averaged 0.957 ± 0.114 standard error for audio detections, 0.434 ± 0.052 for visual detections, and 0.693 ± 0.064 for detection modes combined. Availability averaged 0.475 ± 0.138 and the product of detectability and availability averaged 0.329 ± 0.098. Density averaged 1.459 ± 0.277 individuals ha-1 and population size averaged 642 ± 122 individuals in 440 ha. Density did not differ along and away from forest trails, but was higher inside than outside the park and at elevations within 201-400 m than 100-200 m and 401-600 m. Density declined by 76% after hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. We suggest that major hurricanes together with free-ranging livestock overgrazing degraded foraging habitats, limited food supply, and caused a population bottleneck. Our methodology can be implemented across the distribution range to assess population status and trends and evaluate the result of management actions at key conservation sites. Bridled Quail-dove populations probably were declining on most islands before the 2017 hurricanes and population status warrants revision.

Hurricane‐associated population decrease in a critically endangered long‐lived reptile

“…Effect assessments of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season demonstrate its broad impact on ecosystems and their trophic levels; for example, beach, mangrove, and forest ecosystems (Barreto‐Orta et al, 2019; Hall et al, 2020; Liu et al, 2018; Walcker et al, 2019), salt and freshwater fish communities (Meléndez‐Vazquez et al, 2019; Neal et al, 2020), insect species and communities (Cabrera‐Asencio & Meléndez‐Ackerman, 2021), birds (Lloyd et al, 2019; Palmer et al, 2018), and sea slugs (Middlebrooks et al, 2020). For St. Eustatius specifically, our data add to the understanding of an ecosystem‐wide hurricane impact during 2017 which, besides iguanas, affected forests (Eppinga & Pucko, 2018), as well as populations of Bridled Quail‐dove (River‐Milan et al, 2021) and Red‐bellied racer (Madden et al, 2021). Importantly, these insights and novel risk assessments demonstrate the high extinction risk that endemic, island species will face under projected climate change (Manes et al, 2021).…”

The short-term impacts of Hurricane Maria on the forest birds of Dominica

“…Wunderle (1995) demonstrated reduced catch rates of Ruddy Quail-Doves in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Hugo, and those that were caught had reduced body mass and fat scores. A population of Bridled Quail-Doves (Geotrygon mystacea), a relative of the Ruddy Quail-Dove, decreased significantly and remained low following Hurricanes Irma and Maria on St. Eustatius (Rivera-Milán et al 2021). Ruddy Quail-Doves tend to feed on the ground, eating fallen fruits, seeds, and occasional insects (Kuecker et al 2020).…”

Effects of Deforestation on Foraging Behavior, Ectoparasites, and Adult Survival in the Vulnerable La Selle Thrush, Turdus swalesi, in Haiti

“…Knowledge about the ecology, behavior, and key demographic parameters is therefore of crucial importance for their conservation [5][6][7]. This is even truer of endemic and range-restricted species, as they are at greater extinction risk from localized events such as introduction of alien species or extreme climatic events [8,9]. However, the available information on Neotropical forest bird species mostly comes from species of minor or no conservation concern, with relatively wide geographical distribution areas [7,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”