Raptors and Introduced Species: An Ambiguous Relationship and Needs for Research

SPEZIALE, K. L.; LAMBERTUCCI, S. A.

Bariloche

Congreso; I Worldwide Raptor Conference; 2013

Biological invasions are considered one of the major threats to the Earth?s biota, and their prevention and control are widely recommended. A critical step is to obtain scientific information on the effects produced by introduced species. In the case of raptors, the effects of non-natives are particularly worrisome given their high trophic positions and their ecological role through which they can structure native communities. Here we base on a paper we recently published in which we reviewed the published literature on the effects of introduced species on raptors and go further by updating the information and focusing on studies working on this relationship. Our results highlight important negative effects such as decrease in native prey and poisoning aiming to protect productive non-native species. But also we show that many non-natives have become key components of existing ecosystems with native species depending on them. This must be seriously considered when designing control plans for introduced species. Despite these important effects, we found few articles with the aim of studying the relationship between raptors and non-native species. We consider it is very important to fill this knowledge gap by designing specific studies in the future, particularly taking into account that increased globalization would lead to an increase in non-native species introductions which will probably augment the effect on raptors species. Therefore, in this presentation we will give several examples of the relationship between non-natives and raptors, and we will suggest possible approaches to address this issue.