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- Title
Monitoring and modeling of population dynamics for the harvest management of scaly-naped pigeons in Puerto Rico.
- Authors
Rivera‐Milán, Frank F.; Boomer, G. Scott; Martínez, Alexis J.
- Abstract
ABSTRACT The scaly-naped pigeon ( Patagioenas squamosa) is threatened by hunting in the Caribbean. At present, the pigeon is abundant in Puerto Rico, but overharvesting is a major concern; therefore, the development of a sustainable harvest strategy is a management priority. The management objective of the harvest strategy is to maximize hunting opportunity while keeping the population above an abundance threshold ( N T) of 260,000 pigeons. To facilitate operational development and implementation of the harvest strategy, we conducted point-transect distance sampling to estimate population size, and mail and telephone hunter surveys to estimate total harvest. We used monitoring data and a Bayesian state-space model to estimate population and harvest management parameters, and predicted changes in population size as a function of expected total harvest. Population size averaged 262,899 pigeons (SE = 122,087) in April-June 1986-2012, and total harvest averaged 40,760 pigeons (SD = 43,405) in September-November 1986-2011. Intrinsic rate of growth was 0.442 (SD = 0.142), carrying capacity was 524,900 pigeons (SD = 119,200), maximum sustainable harvest rate was 0.221 (SD = 0.071) with a total harvest of 57,988 pigeons (SD = 14,640), and equilibrium population size was 262,500 pigeons (SD = 59,620). Because the population recently recovered from deforestation and has been affected by hurricanes, a conservative harvest level was prescribed at 50,311 pigeons (SD = 24,939). However, harvest in 2008-2011 was 2.1 times larger than the maximum sustainable yield. Assuming 122,905 pigeons were harvested per year in 2012 and 2013, we predicted a population size of 216,000 pigeons (SD = 90,770) in 2014, suggesting that restrictive regulations may need to be prescribed to meet the management objective. Our monitoring and modeling framework is an important first step in the development and implementation of a sustainable harvest strategy for the scaly-naped pigeon, and the approach can be applied to the management of other columbids in Puerto Rico. © 2014 The Wildlife Society.
- Subjects
POPULATION dynamics; WILDLIFE monitoring; STATE-space methods; PATAGIOENAS; WILDLIFE management; GROWTH rate
- Publication
Journal of Wildlife Management, 2014, Vol 78, Issue 3, p513
- ISSN
0022-541X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/jwmg.672