Alder Amazon: neglected issue in conservation priorities – defining its population status and distribution
Luis Rivera
The Alder Amazon (Amazona tucumana) is a highly endemic and poorly known parrot that inhabits the Yungas montane cloud forest of Argentina and Bolivia. The Yungas Forest is a high biodiversity region with numerous endemic species that is rapidly disappearing due to transformation, timber harvesting and overgrazing. While there are no estimated population numbers for this species throughout its range, it has been suggested that its numbers have decreased dramatically due to habitat loss and capture for the pet trade. Without an accurate status assessment, as well as sound knowledge of breeding and non-breeding requirements, it is not possible to develop a successful strategic conservation plan. In order to fill in these data gaps, this project will determine the population status and distribution of the species and will detect and characterize breeding and non-breeding habitat in Argentina. The information on this flagship species will be essential to local communities, as well as national and provincial agencies that will play an important role in guiding management decisions regulating the use of remnant forests outside protected areas and securing the long-term conservation of the Yungas and its species.
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