title: Unrelenting spread of the alien monk parakeet Myiopsitta monachus in Israel. Is it time to sound the alarm?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Monk parakeets, Myiopsitta monachus Boddaert, are native to South America but have established populations in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. They are claimed to act as agricultural pests in their native range, and their communal stick nests may damage human infrastructure. Although several monk parakeet populations are present in the Mediterranean Basin and temperate Europe, little empirical data are available on their population size and growth, distribution and potential impact. We investigated the temporal and spatial dynamics of monk parakeets in Israel to assess their invasion success and potential impact on agriculture.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Monk parakeet populations are growing exponentially at a higher rate than that reported elsewhere. The current Israeli population of monk parakeets comprises approximately 1500 individuals. The distribution of the species has increased and shifted from predominantly urban areas to agricultural landscapes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In Israel, monk parakeet populations are growing fast and have dispersed rapidly from cities to agricultural areas. At present, reports of agricultural damage are scarce. A complete assessment of possible management strategies is urgently needed before the population becomes too large and widespread to allow for cost-effective mitigation campaigns to be implemented. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
authors.affiliation: Biogeography, Diversity and Conservation Research Team, Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Málaga, Malaga, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose-Luis
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1754-0025
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Postigo
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion - Israeli Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Assaf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shwartz
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.|Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Diederik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Strubbe
authors.affiliation: Biogeography, Diversity and Conservation Research Team, Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Málaga, Malaga, Spain.|Departamento de Botànica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Valencia, Burjassot, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio-Román
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Muñoz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D058865:Introduced Species; D007557:Israel; D009425:Nesting Behavior; D010311:Parrots; D011157:Population Dynamics
keywords: Israel; growth rate; invasive parrot; population dynamics; range expansion