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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Conserv. Sci.
Sec. Animal Conservation
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcosc.2024.1444609
This article is part of the Research Topic Long-Term Research on Avian Conservation Ecology in the Age of Global Change and Citizen Science View all articles

Research, management, and conservation of the yellowshouldered Amazon (Amazona barbadensis) across its range in the southern Caribbean and mainland Venezuela: 1980s to the present

Provisionally accepted
José M. Briceño-Linares José M. Briceño-Linares 1Jesús Aranguren Jesús Aranguren 1Julianka Clarenda Julianka Clarenda 2Alejandro Díaz Alejandro Díaz 1Odette Doest Odette Doest 3Jack Haines Jack Haines 4Erik Houtepen Erik Houtepen 5Rowan O. Martin Rowan O. Martin 4Pablo A. Millán Pablo A. Millán 1Gian Nunes Gian Nunes 6Lauren Schmaltz Lauren Schmaltz 4Bibiana Sucre Bibiana Sucre 1Frank van Slobbe Frank van Slobbe 7Jon Paul Rodríguez Jon Paul Rodríguez 1,8,9*
  • 1 Provita, Boca del Río, Venezuela
  • 2 Bonaire National Marine Park, Bonaire, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
  • 3 VetDoest, Julianadorp, Curaçao
  • 4 World Parrot Trust, Hayle, United Kingdom
  • 5 Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity Foundation, Willemstad, Curaçao
  • 6 Fundacion Parke Nacional Aruba, San Fuego, Aruba
  • 7 Ruimte en Ontwikkeling, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
  • 8 International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland
  • 9 Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Caracas, Caracas, Venezuela

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The yellow-shouldered Amazon (Amazona barbadensis) has been the object of a decentralized research and conservation program throughout its range, spanning mainland Venezuela, the Venezuelan islands of La Blanquilla and Margarita, and Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire in the Southern Caribbean. Multiple interventions have been implemented since the 1980s, primarily in Bonaire and Margarita, including nest protection, the provision of artificial nests, predator control, health monitoring, ecosystem restoration, community education and awareness building. As a result, fledgling recruitment in these two locations has increased and populations have grown substantially. In this article, we summarize the interventions and their impact on population abundance and poaching of nestlings. The status of populations in the Venezuelan mainland continues to be uncertain -yellow-shouldered Amazons were observed recently in their historical distribution, but poaching is still widespread. A 2024 reintroduction in Aruba was the first step toward reestablishment of parrots in the island after being extirpated around 1950. Building on four decades of experience and work, a range wide action plan calls for achieving the vision that by 2031 Amazona barbadensis has functional, viable wild populations throughout its historical range.Steps taken to date suggest that this is within reach if past successes can be sustained and replicated elsewhere, particularly in mainland Venezuela.

    Keywords: Aruba, Bonaire, Community education, Conservation interventions, Curaçao, distribution, poaching, sustainability

    Received: 05 Jun 2024; Accepted: 15 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Briceño-Linares, Aranguren, Clarenda, Díaz, Doest, Haines, Houtepen, Martin, Millán, Nunes, Schmaltz, Sucre, van Slobbe and Rodríguez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jon Paul Rodríguez, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland

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