Wildlife trade, captive breeding and the imminent extinction of a songbird

Nijman, Vincent; Langgeng, Abdullah; Birot, Hélène; Imron, Muhammad Ali; Nekaris, K.A.I.

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00425

Cited by 46 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…However, the low-reproductive rates of preferred species (amazons and macaws) in captivity [6] make it difficult to supply enough individuals and at prices low enough to counteract poaching. Moreover, this activity is prone to fraud, as chicks of preferred species could be poached and sold as captive bred (see [84] for traded Asian songbirds). The genetic control of supposedly captive-bred individuals [85] requires great surveillance efforts, the development of genetic markers, and the availability of molecular laboratories [86], which are difficult to implement at a large scale in countries such as Colombia.…”

Section: Suggested Conservation Actionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunistic or Non-Random Wildlife Crime? Attractiveness Rather Than Abundance in the Wild Leads to Selective Parrot Poaching

et al. 2020

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Illegal wildlife trade, which mostly focuses on high-demand species, constitutes a major threat to biodiversity. However, whether poaching is an opportunistic crime within high-demand taxa such as parrots (i.e., harvesting proportional to species availability in the wild), or is selectively focused on particular, more desirable species, is still under debate. Answering this question has important conservation implications because selective poaching can lead to the extinction of some species through overharvesting. However, the challenges of estimating species abundances in the wild have hampered studies on this subject. We conducted a large-scale survey in Colombia to simultaneously estimate the relative abundance of wild parrots through roadside surveys (recording 10811 individuals from 25 species across 2221 km surveyed) and as household, illegally trapped pets in 282 sampled villages (1179 individuals from 21 species). We used for the first time a selectivity index to test selection on poaching. Results demonstrated that poaching is not opportunistic, but positively selects species based on their attractiveness, defined as a function of species size, coloration, and ability to talk, which is also reflected in their local prices. Our methodological approach, which shows how selection increases the conservation impacts of poaching for parrots, can be applied to other taxa also impacted by harvesting for trade or other purposes.

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Section: Suggested Conservation Actionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunistic or Non-Random Wildlife Crime? Attractiveness Rather Than Abundance in the Wild Leads to Selective Parrot Poaching

et al. 2020

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“…Rampant illegal wildlife trade, especially in Asia, has led to a rapid proliferation of such terminally endangered species over the last five to ten years. This has included numerous parrots and songbirds, along with many non-avian animals 25,[51][52][53] . Out of the three distinct subspecies of the Black-winged Myna, one (melanopterus) is practically extinct in the wild except for a small free-roaming flock inside a Javan wildlife park, while the other two subspecies each number < 200 individuals in the wild.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The conservation value of admixed phenotypes in a critically endangered species complex

Sadanandan

Low

Sridharan

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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In today’s environmental crisis, conservationists are increasingly confronted with terminally endangered species whose last few surviving populations may be affected by allelic introgression from closely related species. Yet there is a worrying lack of evidence-based recommendations and solutions for this emerging problem. We analyzed genome-wide DNA markers and plumage variability in a critically endangered insular songbird, the Black-winged Myna (BWM, Acridotheres melanopterus). This species is highly threatened by the illegal wildlife trade, with its wild population numbering in the low hundreds, and its continued survival urgently depending on ex-situ breeding. Its three subspecies occur along a geographic gradient of melanism and are variably interpreted as three species. However, our integrative approach revealed that melanism poorly reflects the pattern of limited genomic differentiation across BWM subspecies. We also uncovered allelic introgression into the most melanistic subspecies, tertius, from the all-black congeneric Javan Myna (A. javanicus), which is native to the same islands. Based on our results, we recommend the establishment of three separate breeding programs to maintain subspecific traits that may confer local adaptation, but with the option of occasional cross-breeding between insurance populations in order to boost genetic diversity and increase overall viability prospects of each breeding program. Our results underscore the importance of evidence-based integrative approaches when determining appropriate conservation units. Given the rapid increase of terminally endangered organisms in need of ex-situ conservation, this study provides an important blueprint for similar programs dealing with phenotypically variable species.

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“…Birds are arguably one of the most popularly traded taxa, contributing as the most species rich and abundant class of wildlife traded legally based on records from 2006 to 2012 (Bush et al 2013). Traditionally, birds are kept as pets in many societies around the world but probably no where more so than in Southeast Asia (Lin 2005;Nijman et al 2018). However, not all of this trade is regulated and sustainable; over a third of bird species are impacted by overexploitation Reuter et al 2019).…”

Section: Q2mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gunawan et al (2017) monitored 38 general wildlife trade and specialized birds of prey Facebook groups for 11 months over 2015, with about 90% of the offers originating from Facebook groups that were based in Java. Nijman Q20 and Nekaris (unpublished) monitored 15 bird markets in eight cities in Java from April 2014 to July 2019 (Nijman and Nekaris 2017;Nijman et al 2018) and recorded all birds of prey that were openly offered for sale. Despite differences in methodologies Q21 and survey efforts, we find similar links in species offered for sale, specially the migrant species which also fly over Thailand and mainland Southeast Asia such as the Japanese sparrowhawk Accipiter gularis and Chinese goshawk A. soloensis, as well as sales of nonmigratory species such as mountain hawk-eagles N. nipalensis which must have been imported from the mainland and Thailand are one of the closed source countries.…”

Section: Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildlife trade shifts from brick-and-mortar markets to virtual marketplaces: A case study of birds of prey trade in Thailand

Siriwat

Nijman

2020

Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity

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a b s t r a c tThe shift of wildlife trade from brick-and-mortar markets to virtual online marketplaces is reported using the trade of birds of prey (raptors) in Thailand from 1968 to 2019 as a case study. We analyzed data obtained from physical market survey data for 2,782 individuals from 27 species, with 2,420 individuals reported in early surveys and 362 individuals reported in later surveys (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) and online surveys (February 2017 to January 2019). We compared information on asking prices and what species were traded using two comparative approaches to analyze how species composition may have changed over time (physical markets and online platforms; pre-Internet and Internet era). In comparison with the five previous market surveys, we did not find a statistically significant difference between species and availability of species offered for sale when comparing physical bird markets and online markets. In all data sets, biological factors such as wingspan were significant factors in explaining price variation. We conclude that sustained monitoring is needed to make direct comparisons between the trade platforms. With a continued increase of wildlife trade on online platforms, we recommend increased regulation and enforcement of wildlife trade laws.

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Wildlife trade, captive breeding and the imminent extinction of a songbird

Cited by 46 publications

References 26 publications

Opportunistic or Non-Random Wildlife Crime? Attractiveness Rather Than Abundance in the Wild Leads to Selective Parrot Poaching

Opportunistic or Non-Random Wildlife Crime? Attractiveness Rather Than Abundance in the Wild Leads to Selective Parrot Poaching

The conservation value of admixed phenotypes in a critically endangered species complex

Wildlife trade shifts from brick-and-mortar markets to virtual marketplaces: A case study of birds of prey trade in Thailand

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