Pet problems: Biological and economic factors that influence the release of alien reptiles and amphibians by pet owners.
Saved in:
| Title: | Pet problems: Biological and economic factors that influence the release of alien reptiles and amphibians by pet owners. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Stringham, Oliver C.1 oliverstringham@gmail.com, Lockwood, Julie L.1, Bellard, Céline1 |
| Source: | Journal of Applied Ecology. Nov2018, Vol. 55 Issue 6, p2632-2640. 9p. 2 Charts, 4 Graphs. |
| Subjects: | Pet owners, Amphibians, Reptiles, Exotic animals, Species distribution |
| Abstract: | The number of alien reptiles and amphibians introduced and established worldwide has increased over the last decades. The legal pet trade is now the dominant pathway by which individuals of these species arrive in their non‐native locale. Despite its importance, specific factors of pet trade pathway that influence the release (introduction) of exotic reptiles and amphibians have not yet been examined.We set out to identify broadscale and easily measured biological and economic factors that influence the release of these exotic pets by their owners. We hypothesize that biological factors reflect the cost of care, and economic factors reflect the value that owners place on their pet, both of which can influence the probability when a pet is released. We collected life history and economic data on the 1,722 species of reptiles and amphibians sold within the US as pets over the last 18 years. We also compiled a list of pet trade‐attributed releases in the US (i.e., all free‐living species regardless of whether they successfully established). We used boosted regression trees to correlate species release status with their life‐history traits and economic attributes (r2 = 0.51, AUC = 0.89).We found that species with a high probability of being released were imported at higher quantities over our period of record, have a relatively large adult mass and commanded cheaper retail prices. The number imported and price interacted with longevity and adult mass to produce nonlinear increases in release probability. The most important interaction revealed that large‐bodied species imported in high quantities have a three times higher release probability compared to large‐bodied species imported in lower quantities.Policy implications. Our results provide guidance towards targeting exotic pet reptile and amphibian species that are at a high risk of being released. Species that are both prevalent in the pet trade and large‐bodied or long‐lived have the highest probability of being released. This will aid in developing education and policy solutions aimed at decreasing the rate at which these pets are released, thus curtailing the invasion process before these species can establish and impacts can occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Applied Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
|---|---|
| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 132394854 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
| IllustrationInfo | |
| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Pet problems: Biological and economic factors that influence the release of alien reptiles and amphibians by pet owners. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Stringham%2C+Oliver+C%2E%22">Stringham, Oliver C.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> oliverstringham@gmail.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lockwood%2C+Julie+L%2E%22">Lockwood, Julie L.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bellard%2C+Céline%22">Bellard, Céline</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Applied+Ecology%22">Journal of Applied Ecology</searchLink>. Nov2018, Vol. 55 Issue 6, p2632-2640. 9p. 2 Charts, 4 Graphs. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pet+owners%22">Pet owners</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Amphibians%22">Amphibians</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reptiles%22">Reptiles</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Exotic+animals%22">Exotic animals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Species+distribution%22">Species distribution</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The number of alien reptiles and amphibians introduced and established worldwide has increased over the last decades. The legal pet trade is now the dominant pathway by which individuals of these species arrive in their non‐native locale. Despite its importance, specific factors of pet trade pathway that influence the release (introduction) of exotic reptiles and amphibians have not yet been examined.We set out to identify broadscale and easily measured biological and economic factors that influence the release of these exotic pets by their owners. We hypothesize that biological factors reflect the cost of care, and economic factors reflect the value that owners place on their pet, both of which can influence the probability when a pet is released. We collected life history and economic data on the 1,722 species of reptiles and amphibians sold within the US as pets over the last 18 years. We also compiled a list of pet trade‐attributed releases in the US (i.e., all free‐living species regardless of whether they successfully established). We used boosted regression trees to correlate species release status with their life‐history traits and economic attributes (r2 = 0.51, AUC = 0.89).We found that species with a high probability of being released were imported at higher quantities over our period of record, have a relatively large adult mass and commanded cheaper retail prices. The number imported and price interacted with longevity and adult mass to produce nonlinear increases in release probability. The most important interaction revealed that large‐bodied species imported in high quantities have a three times higher release probability compared to large‐bodied species imported in lower quantities.Policy implications. Our results provide guidance towards targeting exotic pet reptile and amphibian species that are at a high risk of being released. Species that are both prevalent in the pet trade and large‐bodied or long‐lived have the highest probability of being released. This will aid in developing education and policy solutions aimed at decreasing the rate at which these pets are released, thus curtailing the invasion process before these species can establish and impacts can occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Applied Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=132394854 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1111/1365-2664.13237 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 9 StartPage: 2632 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Pet owners Type: general – SubjectFull: Amphibians Type: general – SubjectFull: Reptiles Type: general – SubjectFull: Exotic animals Type: general – SubjectFull: Species distribution Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Pet problems: Biological and economic factors that influence the release of alien reptiles and amphibians by pet owners. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Stringham, Oliver C. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Lockwood, Julie L. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Bellard, Céline IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 11 Text: Nov2018 Type: published Y: 2018 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00218901 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 55 – Type: issue Value: 6 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Applied Ecology Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
