| Principal Investigator: | Dr Jim Groombridge |
|---|---|
| Co Investigators: | Dr. Diederik Strubbe, University of Antwerp |
| Researcher: | Hazel Jackson |
| Project dates: | February 2012 – January 2013 |
| Funding: | £12,467: University of Antwerp |
| Collaborators: | University of Antwerp and Prof. Byron Morgan from SMSAS, University of Kent |
Invasive species are those species which have been introduced outside of their native range and which threaten native wildlife, for example by competing for or damaging habitat or acting as vectors for disease. Often, invasive species can present problems for human well-being, such as health, or have unwanted influences on agricultural land-use. As such, invasive species are a global problem. One example is the ringneck parakeet (Psittacula krameri). Despite being a non-migratory species and native to the Indian sub‐continent and sub‐Saharan Africa, this parakeet has managed to colonise many parts of the world, including the UK. The introduced population of parakeets in the UK is thought to have been founded from just a handful of escaped pet birds in 1969. However, today the estimated population may exceed 20,000 birds and is possibly one of the fastest-growing of any bird population in the UK, a situation that has come to the attention of local and national government. Parakeets are also prevalent across large parts of Europe, with large and growing populations in many European countries including Belgium, Germany, Italy, Greece, France and Spain.
The ringneck parakeets have flourished in their non-native habitats due to their ability to feed generally on a wide range of foods. Indeed, parakeets may become a concern for the agricultural sector because of the tendency of these birds to feed on orchard fruits as well as maize and sunflower crops, all of which are likely to become increasingly popular crops in the UK in response to future climate change. The growth of these parakeet populations has been relatively well-documented over the past decades in many parts of Europe, providing a valuable study-system for examining the population genetic history of an invasive vertebrate species. Studying the population genetics of this rapidly growing population may provide some insights into why populations of invasive species are so successful. This project aims to use DNA markers to determine what the phylogenetic relationships are between the European populations of ringneck parakeets (including that in the UK) and the native populations in India/Africa, and to characterise to what extent the invasive populations across Europe have been founded from a single source or multiple sources and to what extent hybridisation may have occurred between different subspecies of ringneck parakeet. A landscape genetic approach will enable us to understand not only the chronology of the invasion of parakeets across Europe but also to try to understand the role that genetic diversity may have played at the population level in their successful invasion and colonisation.