Presence of Endangered Red-Crowned Parrots (<i>Amazona viridigenalis</i>) Depends on Urban Landscapes
Many species of plants and animals thrive in urban habitats and stand to gain from the global trend in increased urbanization. One such species, the Red-crowned Parrot (<i>Amazona viridigenalis</i>), is endangered within its native range but seems to thrive in urban landscapes. While pop...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/7/878 |
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| author | Simon Kiacz Hsiao-Hsuan Wang Donald J. Brightsmith |
| author_facet | Simon Kiacz Hsiao-Hsuan Wang Donald J. Brightsmith |
| author_sort | Simon Kiacz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many species of plants and animals thrive in urban habitats and stand to gain from the global trend in increased urbanization. One such species, the Red-crowned Parrot (<i>Amazona viridigenalis</i>), is endangered within its native range but seems to thrive in urban landscapes. While populations of endangered synanthropic species may be uncommon, they can act as genetic reservoirs and present us with unique conservation and research opportunities. We sought to determine the red-crowned parrot’s level of dependency on urban areas, as well as the climatic and anthropogenic drivers of their distribution throughout the United States. We built national level species distribution models for the USA using Maxent and correlated presence points derived from field work and citizen science databases to environmental variables for three Red-crowned Parrot populations: two naturalized (California and Florida) and one native (Texas). We found current occupancy to be 18,965 km<sup>2</sup> throughout the three states. These three states also contained 39,429 km<sup>2</sup> of high- and medium-quality habitats, which, if occupied, would represent a substantial increase in the species range. Suitable habitat showed a strong positive correlation with urbanization in areas where average monthly temperatures were at least 5 °C. The current and predicted distributions of Red-crowned Parrots were closely aligned with urban boundaries. We expected populations of Red-crowned Parrots and other synanthropic species to grow due to a combination of factors, namely, continued urbanization and the effects of climate change, which increase the size and connectivity of a suitable habitat. For some imperiled species, urban habitats could prove to be important bastions for their conservation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:09:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aef4294d7b13494ab29e97cda6a46f34 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:09:01Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-aef4294d7b13494ab29e97cda6a46f342023-11-18T19:00:31ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182023-07-0115787810.3390/d15070878Presence of Endangered Red-Crowned Parrots (<i>Amazona viridigenalis</i>) Depends on Urban LandscapesSimon Kiacz0Hsiao-Hsuan Wang1Donald J. Brightsmith2Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USAEcological Systems Laboratory, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USADepartment of Veterinary Pathobiology, TAMU 4467, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USAMany species of plants and animals thrive in urban habitats and stand to gain from the global trend in increased urbanization. One such species, the Red-crowned Parrot (<i>Amazona viridigenalis</i>), is endangered within its native range but seems to thrive in urban landscapes. While populations of endangered synanthropic species may be uncommon, they can act as genetic reservoirs and present us with unique conservation and research opportunities. We sought to determine the red-crowned parrot’s level of dependency on urban areas, as well as the climatic and anthropogenic drivers of their distribution throughout the United States. We built national level species distribution models for the USA using Maxent and correlated presence points derived from field work and citizen science databases to environmental variables for three Red-crowned Parrot populations: two naturalized (California and Florida) and one native (Texas). We found current occupancy to be 18,965 km<sup>2</sup> throughout the three states. These three states also contained 39,429 km<sup>2</sup> of high- and medium-quality habitats, which, if occupied, would represent a substantial increase in the species range. Suitable habitat showed a strong positive correlation with urbanization in areas where average monthly temperatures were at least 5 °C. The current and predicted distributions of Red-crowned Parrots were closely aligned with urban boundaries. We expected populations of Red-crowned Parrots and other synanthropic species to grow due to a combination of factors, namely, continued urbanization and the effects of climate change, which increase the size and connectivity of a suitable habitat. For some imperiled species, urban habitats could prove to be important bastions for their conservation.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/7/878parrotsurbanizationspecies distribution modelingsynanthropemaxentanthropogenic |
| spellingShingle | Simon Kiacz Hsiao-Hsuan Wang Donald J. Brightsmith Presence of Endangered Red-Crowned Parrots (<i>Amazona viridigenalis</i>) Depends on Urban Landscapes Diversity parrots urbanization species distribution modeling synanthrope maxent anthropogenic |
| title | Presence of Endangered Red-Crowned Parrots (<i>Amazona viridigenalis</i>) Depends on Urban Landscapes |
| title_full | Presence of Endangered Red-Crowned Parrots (<i>Amazona viridigenalis</i>) Depends on Urban Landscapes |
| title_fullStr | Presence of Endangered Red-Crowned Parrots (<i>Amazona viridigenalis</i>) Depends on Urban Landscapes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Presence of Endangered Red-Crowned Parrots (<i>Amazona viridigenalis</i>) Depends on Urban Landscapes |
| title_short | Presence of Endangered Red-Crowned Parrots (<i>Amazona viridigenalis</i>) Depends on Urban Landscapes |
| title_sort | presence of endangered red crowned parrots i amazona viridigenalis i depends on urban landscapes |
| topic | parrots urbanization species distribution modeling synanthrope maxent anthropogenic |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/7/878 |
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