Patterns and Factors Influencing Parrot (Order: Psittaciformes) Success in Establishing Thriving Naturalized Populations within the Contiguous United States
Parrots (Order: Psittaciformes) represent one of the most striking and ecomorphologically diverse avian clades, spanning more than two orders of magnitude in body size with populations occupying six continents. The worldwide diaspora of parrots is largely due to the pet trade, driven by human desire...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/13/2101 |
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| author | Edwin Dickinson Melody W. Young Daniel Tanis Michael C. Granatosky |
| author_facet | Edwin Dickinson Melody W. Young Daniel Tanis Michael C. Granatosky |
| author_sort | Edwin Dickinson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Parrots (Order: Psittaciformes) represent one of the most striking and ecomorphologically diverse avian clades, spanning more than two orders of magnitude in body size with populations occupying six continents. The worldwide diaspora of parrots is largely due to the pet trade, driven by human desire for bright, colorful, and intelligent animals as companions. Some introduced species have aptly inserted themselves into the local ecosystem and established successful breeding colonies all around the globe. Notably, the United States is home to several thriving populations of introduced species including red-masked parakeets (<i>Psittacara erythrogenys</i>), monk parakeets (<i>Myiopsitta monachus</i>), nanday conures (<i>Aratinga nenday</i>), and red-crowned amazons (<i>Amazona viridigenalis</i>). Their incredible success globally begs the question as to how these birds adapt so readily to novel environments. In this commentary, we trace parrots through evolutionary history, contextualize existent naturalized parrot populations within the contiguous United States, and provide a phylogenetic regression analysis of body mass and brain size based on success in establishing breeding populations. The propensity for a parrot species to become established appears to be phylogenetically driven. Notably, parrots in the family Cacatuidae and Neotropical <i>Pyrrhua</i> appear to be poor at establishing themselves in the United States once released. Although brain size among Psittaciformes did not show a significant impact on successful breeding in the continental United States, we propose that the success of parrots can be attributed to their charismatic nature, significant intelligence relative to other avian lineages, and behavioral flexibility. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:48:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-049fea3e07b246479504af7da460b0c1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:48:40Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-049fea3e07b246479504af7da460b0c12023-11-18T16:02:59ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-06-011313210110.3390/ani13132101Patterns and Factors Influencing Parrot (Order: Psittaciformes) Success in Establishing Thriving Naturalized Populations within the Contiguous United StatesEdwin Dickinson0Melody W. Young1Daniel Tanis2Michael C. Granatosky3Department of Anatomy, College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USADepartment of Anatomy, College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USADepartment of Anatomy, College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USADepartment of Anatomy, College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USAParrots (Order: Psittaciformes) represent one of the most striking and ecomorphologically diverse avian clades, spanning more than two orders of magnitude in body size with populations occupying six continents. The worldwide diaspora of parrots is largely due to the pet trade, driven by human desire for bright, colorful, and intelligent animals as companions. Some introduced species have aptly inserted themselves into the local ecosystem and established successful breeding colonies all around the globe. Notably, the United States is home to several thriving populations of introduced species including red-masked parakeets (<i>Psittacara erythrogenys</i>), monk parakeets (<i>Myiopsitta monachus</i>), nanday conures (<i>Aratinga nenday</i>), and red-crowned amazons (<i>Amazona viridigenalis</i>). Their incredible success globally begs the question as to how these birds adapt so readily to novel environments. In this commentary, we trace parrots through evolutionary history, contextualize existent naturalized parrot populations within the contiguous United States, and provide a phylogenetic regression analysis of body mass and brain size based on success in establishing breeding populations. The propensity for a parrot species to become established appears to be phylogenetically driven. Notably, parrots in the family Cacatuidae and Neotropical <i>Pyrrhua</i> appear to be poor at establishing themselves in the United States once released. Although brain size among Psittaciformes did not show a significant impact on successful breeding in the continental United States, we propose that the success of parrots can be attributed to their charismatic nature, significant intelligence relative to other avian lineages, and behavioral flexibility.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/13/2101introduced speciesbrain sizemonk parakeetbehavioral flexibilityurban ecology |
| spellingShingle | Edwin Dickinson Melody W. Young Daniel Tanis Michael C. Granatosky Patterns and Factors Influencing Parrot (Order: Psittaciformes) Success in Establishing Thriving Naturalized Populations within the Contiguous United States Animals introduced species brain size monk parakeet behavioral flexibility urban ecology |
| title | Patterns and Factors Influencing Parrot (Order: Psittaciformes) Success in Establishing Thriving Naturalized Populations within the Contiguous United States |
| title_full | Patterns and Factors Influencing Parrot (Order: Psittaciformes) Success in Establishing Thriving Naturalized Populations within the Contiguous United States |
| title_fullStr | Patterns and Factors Influencing Parrot (Order: Psittaciformes) Success in Establishing Thriving Naturalized Populations within the Contiguous United States |
| title_full_unstemmed | Patterns and Factors Influencing Parrot (Order: Psittaciformes) Success in Establishing Thriving Naturalized Populations within the Contiguous United States |
| title_short | Patterns and Factors Influencing Parrot (Order: Psittaciformes) Success in Establishing Thriving Naturalized Populations within the Contiguous United States |
| title_sort | patterns and factors influencing parrot order psittaciformes success in establishing thriving naturalized populations within the contiguous united states |
| topic | introduced species brain size monk parakeet behavioral flexibility urban ecology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/13/2101 |
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