Introduced birds of Saudi Arabia: Status and potential impacts

Introduced species can have devastating impacts on the environment and economy in non-native ranges. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, published knowledge of introduced fauna or flora is very limited, although this knowledge is basic for their management. Thus, this research provides the very first de...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mohammed Alshamlih, Mohamed Alzayer, Faisal Hajwal, May Khalili, Fares Khoury
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-01-01
Series:Journal of King Saud University: Science
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S101836472100313X
_version_ 1818362627985768448
author Mohammed Alshamlih
Mohamed Alzayer
Faisal Hajwal
May Khalili
Fares Khoury
author_facet Mohammed Alshamlih
Mohamed Alzayer
Faisal Hajwal
May Khalili
Fares Khoury
author_sort Mohammed Alshamlih
collection DOAJ
description Introduced species can have devastating impacts on the environment and economy in non-native ranges. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, published knowledge of introduced fauna or flora is very limited, although this knowledge is basic for their management. Thus, this research provides the very first detailed list of invasive bird species in the Kingdom based on intensive field work, citizen science and published literature. The introduced bird community in the Kingdom consists of 21 species, many of which are widely spread across the Kingdom. Distribution of introduced species varies among provinces; the highest numbers are recorded in Riyadh and Eastern Province with 18 species each, representing 9 and 10 families, respectively. A few of the reported species are linked with devastating ecological and economic impacts in introductions that took place elsewhere, such as Indian House Crow, Common Myna, and Red-vented bulbul. Harvest of wild birds for the purpose of pet trade caused the introduction of three known natives of the highlands in the south-west region into the deserts of the Central and Eastern region. It is evident that the Kingdom harbors many introduced species that are invasive and are known of having a wide range of impacts, necessitating further studies to provide management insights. Management actions directed by these scientific findings is crucially needed to prevent future introductions and contain previously established ones.
first_indexed 2024-12-13T21:35:36Z
format Article
id doaj.art-ae9ea7ac083143479777917c71ac2d3a
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1018-3647
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-13T21:35:36Z
publishDate 2022-01-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Journal of King Saud University: Science
spelling doaj.art-ae9ea7ac083143479777917c71ac2d3a2022-12-21T23:30:42ZengElsevierJournal of King Saud University: Science1018-36472022-01-01341101651Introduced birds of Saudi Arabia: Status and potential impactsMohammed Alshamlih0Mohamed Alzayer1Faisal Hajwal2May Khalili3Fares Khoury4Biology Department, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia; Ecology and Environmental Biology of Arabian Gulf and Desert Unit, Basic and Applied Scientific Research Center, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding author at: Ecology and Environmental Biology of Arabian Gulf and Desert Unit, Basic and Applied Scientific Research Center, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.Department of Enviromental Health, College of Public Health, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal UniversityBirds Monitoring Group, Dammam, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Basic Sciences, Deanship of Preparatory Year and Supporting Studies, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 34212, Saudi ArabiaAmerican University, Amman, JordanIntroduced species can have devastating impacts on the environment and economy in non-native ranges. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, published knowledge of introduced fauna or flora is very limited, although this knowledge is basic for their management. Thus, this research provides the very first detailed list of invasive bird species in the Kingdom based on intensive field work, citizen science and published literature. The introduced bird community in the Kingdom consists of 21 species, many of which are widely spread across the Kingdom. Distribution of introduced species varies among provinces; the highest numbers are recorded in Riyadh and Eastern Province with 18 species each, representing 9 and 10 families, respectively. A few of the reported species are linked with devastating ecological and economic impacts in introductions that took place elsewhere, such as Indian House Crow, Common Myna, and Red-vented bulbul. Harvest of wild birds for the purpose of pet trade caused the introduction of three known natives of the highlands in the south-west region into the deserts of the Central and Eastern region. It is evident that the Kingdom harbors many introduced species that are invasive and are known of having a wide range of impacts, necessitating further studies to provide management insights. Management actions directed by these scientific findings is crucially needed to prevent future introductions and contain previously established ones.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S101836472100313XBiological invasionExotic speciesPet tradeArabian PeninsulaRange expansion
spellingShingle Mohammed Alshamlih
Mohamed Alzayer
Faisal Hajwal
May Khalili
Fares Khoury
Introduced birds of Saudi Arabia: Status and potential impacts
Journal of King Saud University: Science
Biological invasion
Exotic species
Pet trade
Arabian Peninsula
Range expansion
title Introduced birds of Saudi Arabia: Status and potential impacts
title_full Introduced birds of Saudi Arabia: Status and potential impacts
title_fullStr Introduced birds of Saudi Arabia: Status and potential impacts
title_full_unstemmed Introduced birds of Saudi Arabia: Status and potential impacts
title_short Introduced birds of Saudi Arabia: Status and potential impacts
title_sort introduced birds of saudi arabia status and potential impacts
topic Biological invasion
Exotic species
Pet trade
Arabian Peninsula
Range expansion
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S101836472100313X
work_keys_str_mv AT mohammedalshamlih introducedbirdsofsaudiarabiastatusandpotentialimpacts
AT mohamedalzayer introducedbirdsofsaudiarabiastatusandpotentialimpacts
AT faisalhajwal introducedbirdsofsaudiarabiastatusandpotentialimpacts
AT maykhalili introducedbirdsofsaudiarabiastatusandpotentialimpacts
AT fareskhoury introducedbirdsofsaudiarabiastatusandpotentialimpacts