The queen of the island: On the density and distribution of the Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) in Cozumel

Abstract

The Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) is one of the most successful invasive bird species across the world. Worryingly, the invasive dove is a known reservoir of many diseases, some of which can potentially infect mammals (including human beings). Additionally, aggressive behaviors have been recorded toward other bird species resulting in territory and nest usurpation. Thus, the presence of this species poses an important risk for native species with similar habits, particularly in insular systems. Based on this, we carried out this study to assess the density and distribution of the Eurasian Collared-Dove in the island of Cozumel, as well as to evaluate the relationship between their abundance and the environmental characteristics of the places they inhabit. We estimated their distance-corrected densities in the island's largest town and performed an inverse distance weighting (IDW) interpolation to visualize their distribution. We performed a generalized linear model (GLM) to assess relationships between the environmental variables and the abundance of doves using a reduced model procedure. We obtained 137 records of doves present in 94% of all survey sites and an estimated density of 6.8 ind/ha, for a total of 6,670 doves in San Miguel de Cozumel. We did not find a spatial pattern of the dove's distribution on the urban setting, but we found an interaction between their abundances with tree cover and building height. Our findings, together with previous evidence of infection risk and aggressive behavior, make this species a threat to the native species communities of fragile ecosystems such as the island of Cozumel.

Abundance of Non-Native Birds in the City: Spatial Variation and Relationship with Socioeconomics in a South American City

“…The inverse distance weighting (IDW) method was then used in QGIS, which corresponds to a deterministic spatial interpolation that assumes that the closest sites are more similar than those that are further away [36]. This method was used to visualize patterns of richness and abundance in both plants and animals [37][38][39]. With this interpolation method, it was possible to control the importance of known sites on the interpolated values (power (p)), as well as sites that can influence the interpolation (neighborhood (n)).…”

Alien and Potentially Invasive Plants in Four Lagoons on the Island of Cozumel, Mexico

“…Later, the same authors explored the effects of this Asian invasive species on plant community structure and composition [10]. Similarly, García-Arroyo et al [11] found that the Eurasian collared-dove (Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838)), one of the most successive birds worldwide, was very abundant in the urban areas of the island. Additional alien invasive species reported in Cozumel include the lionfish (Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1957)) [12]; a tarantula (Brachypelma vagans (Ausserer, 1875)) [13]; and the boa (Boa imperator (Daudin, 1803)) [14].…”

Population trends and viability of the critically endangered Cozumel Curassow: a 25-year perspective

“…The Cozumel Curassow is also threatened by the introduction of non-native predators, as it may have evolved in the absence of predators (Martínez-Morales and Cuarón 1999; Romero-Najera 2004; Valenzuela-Galván et al 2022). Exotic species have increased in concordance with the growth of the local human population (Morales-Contreras et al 2020; García-Arroyo et al 2021), which in the last 20 years has increased by at least 70% (INEGI 2015). This is in addition to the 4 to 5 million tourists that Cozumel receives annually (Palafox-Muñoz and Collantes-Chávez 2009).…”