Parrot Net COST Action (ES1304) meeting: Citizen Science for analysing trends of spread, 15 July 2015, Sofia, Bulgaria

ESENIAS and ESENIAS-TOOLS project were presented during the one-day workshop of the project “European network on invasive parakeets: Understanding invasion dynamics and risks to agriculture and society” (ParrotNet, COST Action ES1304), held on 15.07.2015, in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The workshop focused on citizen science for analysing trends of spread of invasive parakeets. The European Monitoring Centre was presented and the opportunities for summarising, visualising and analysing of the existing data on population dynamics of invasive parrots across Europe were discussed. Participants from research, governmental and non-governmental organisations from eight countries attended the workshop.

ParrotNet is a European network of scientists, practitioners and policy-makers dedicated to research on invasive parrots, their impacts and the challenges they present. The network is working to better understand why parakeets are highly successful invaders, how we can predict their agricultural, economic, societal and ecological impacts across Europe, and the means to mitigate them, and to assist policy-makers with managing the challenges that invasive alien species pose. A special focus of the project is the Ring-necked Parakeet (Psittacula krameri), originating from South Asia and currently considered one of the 100 worst invasive species in Europe, expanded to more than 100 cities on the continent since the 1970s.

Data on the Ring-necked Parakeet in Bulgaria and the ESENIAS region will be collected and analysed within the ESENIAS-TOOLS project as well. This species was recorded for the first time in Bulgaria in 1996 and since then numerous individuals have been observed throughout the country. One breeding attempt was recorded in the country. Profound knowledge on the establishment, spread and impact of this species is of crucial importance for setting adequate measures for managing its populations.

Presenatation:

Trichkova T. 2015. ESENIAS, East and South European Network for Invasive Alien Species. Citizen Science for analysing trends of spread.European network on invasive parakeets: Understanding invasion dynamics and risks to agriculture and society (ParrotNET, COST Action ES1304), 15.07.2015, Sofia, Bulgaria.

ParrotNet project website >>>