Population counts and potential impact of two successful invaders in a town of Northern Italy: the case of ring-necked parakeet and Alexandrine parakeet in Reggio Emilia

Submitted: 2 March 2021
Accepted: 14 April 2021
Published: 21 April 2021
Abstract Views: 1975
PDF: 703
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

In our paper, we reported the presence of two alien species in the city of Reggio Emilia, the ring-necked parakeet Psittacula krameri and the Alexandrine parakeet Psittacula eupatria. The ring-necked parakeet is widespread throughout Europe with many colonies known also for Italy, whereas the Alexandrine parakeet has been only recorded in the last 10-15 years and, apart from few individuals in Rome, the breeding population in Reggio Emilia is the largest one in Italy. We carried winter counts following standard methods through counts at roosts. About 78-80 ring-necked and at least 16 Alexandrine parakeets were counted, including also some hybrids between the two species, which were morphologically identified by the pale colour of the shoulders. Although no claims of crop damage are yet reported, parakeets of both species may feed on ripe and unripe persimmons in private gardens, reducing the total fruit production by up to 75-80%. Furthermore, four Savi’s pipistrelle Hypsugo savii have been killed by ring-necked parakeets in early spring 2019. Therefore, the current trend of these species in the town could lead to further expansion into suburban farmland areas, increasing potential conflicts with human activities.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

How to Cite

Viviano, A., & Mori, E. (2021). Population counts and potential impact of two successful invaders in a town of Northern Italy: the case of ring-necked parakeet and Alexandrine parakeet in Reggio Emilia. Natural History Sciences, 8(1), 35–40. https://doi.org/10.4081/nhs.2021.518

Similar Articles

<< < 1 2 3 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.