Alessandro Pirzio Biroli

Wildlife management can generate social conflict when stakeholder perceptions of the target species are not considered. Introduced Ring-necked Parakeets (RNP) are established in the UK and have been added to the ‘general licence’ of birds that can be killed to prevent serious economic damage. We aimed to better understand perceptions of RNPs on a nationwide scale to inform mitigation actions for potential future conflict over RNP management. We surveyed 3,947 UK residents to understand awareness of, knowledge of and attitudes towards the RNP across the UK. We found that most respondents (90.2%) were aware of the RNP. Almost half of respondents (45.9%) held negative opinions, particularly against the RNP in rural areas (64.7%), suggesting landscape contexts influence attitudes. Respondent preference for the RNP was low in local neighbourhoods (7.80%) although the species was considered aesthetically pleasing by most (83.0%). Many respondents knew the species’ name (54.9%), but underestimated current population numbers in the UK (82.6%) and few knew its full native range (10.0%). We identified respondents’ ecological interest, age, education, preference for, awareness of and knowledge of the RNP as significant factors associated with perceptions. Our findings suggest that the RNP presents a complex socio-environmental challenge, with respondent awareness, knowledge and attitudes each forming an important component of perceptions towards this species. We recommend that wildlife managers utilise our findings and cohesive approach to enhance future RNP perception research in the UK and abroad and towards the success of any proposed management initiatives under the UK general licence.

Wildlife management propositions can generate social conflict when stakeholder perceptions of the target species are not taken into account. Introduced Ring-necked Parakeets (RNP), which are established in the UK, have been added to the ‘general licence’ of birds that can be killed to prevent serious economic damage. We aim to better understand public perceptions of RNPs on a nationwide scale to mitigate potential future conflict over RNP management. We surveyed 3,947 UK residents to understand public awareness of, knowledge of and attitudes towards the RNP across the UK. We found that most respondents (90.2%) were aware of the RNP. The majority of respondents knew the species’ name (54.9%) but many underestimated current population numbers in the UK (82.6%) and few knew its full native range (10.0%). Almost half (45.9%) of responses indicated negative attitudes towards the RNP. We found aversion towards the RNP’s presence in rural areas and indifference in urban areas, highlighting that landscape and socio-cultural contexts are associated with attitudes. Respondent preference for the RNP in relation to other birds in their local neighbourhood was low (7.8%), contrasting with previous RNP perception studies. Conversely, most respondents (83.0%) agreed that the RNP had pleasant aesthetics , suggesting nuanced views that separate appearance from impacts. We identified respondents’ preference for the RNP, ecological interest, age and education as significant factors associated with perceptions. The RNP has a strong and complex public profile in the UK, and these perceptions and their drivers would be important factors in the popularity and success of any proposed management initiatives.

Increasing global urbanisation has steered research towards understanding biodiversity in urban areas. Old city spaces throughout Europe have a proliferation of urban court gardens, which can create a mosaic of habitat pockets in an urban area. This article examines the patterns and drivers of avian species richness and community structure in 20 gardens of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. We conducted morning surveys across 7 weeks in May and June 2017 and used an information-theoretic approach and model averaging to identify important habitat predictors of species richness. We also studied community structure with Sorensen indices and non-metric multi-dimensional analysis. A total of 43 avian species were observed across all sites. Our sites generally differed in their avian assemblages, with greater species turnover than nestedness between sites. Site area was the strongest predictor of site species richness and surrounding habitat composition was the dominant driver of community structure. Thus, the largest gardens were the most species rich, but species composition among gardens differed based on the habitats in which they were embedded. We support using island biogeography theory to understand the avian species assemblages of urban ecosystems and stress the suitability of our study sites for future urban ecosystem research and generating wildlife awareness.