Data from: Cultural burden of wild pet ownership causes selective parrot defaunation despite habitat restoration efforts in Costa Rica
Data files
Sep 19, 2025 version files 1.02 MB
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patch_data.csv
128.34 KB
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pet_costa_rica.csv
54.73 KB
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point_data.txt
306.21 KB
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README.md
11.55 KB
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surveys_costa_rica.csv
518.96 KB
Abstract
Aim
Human population growth and resource overexploitation have induced major changes in global biodiversity. Costa Rica, with 26% of its land area protected, is considered a good example of environmental conservation. However, measures taken focus mainly on habitat preservation, while overharvesting is also a major driver of wildlife decline. Neotropical parrots seem to be affected by both habitat degradation and poaching, providing an interesting model to study the combined effects of these threats. We test how different levels of habitat transformation influence parrot presence, abundance and richness, as well as the effects of illegal extraction of individuals to supply domestic pet demand.
Location
Costa Rica
Methods
We conducted a large-scale survey across the country to simultaneously obtain data on the relative abundance of parrots in different habitats and estimate parrot poaching by recording illegal household pets. Then, we related parrot presence, abundance and richness to habitat characteristics using two complementary approaches: patches along transects to assess habitat characteristics based on information from road transects and all georeferenced points where we had detected at least one parrot to calculate point-level presence, abundance and richness.
Results
We found a high abundance and richness of parrots in habitats with intermediate levels of human transformation and an overwhelming number of illegal parrot pets.
Main Conclusions
Costa Rican parrots tolerate some degree of human-induced habitat transformation but are unable to withstand overharvesting, mainly the preferred species (amazons and macaws). Habitat protection is partially effective in conserving parrots and should be combined with actions to halt illegal harvesting to restore parrot populations and their ecological functions.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Journal: Diversity & Distributions
ID manuscript: DDI-2023-0490
Title of Dataset: Raw data for: Habitat Protection Alone Is Insufficient: Costa Rican Parrots Thrive in Altered Landscapes but Remain Vulnerable to Poaching
Author Information
Name: Romero-Vidal, Pedro
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0647-6953
Institution: Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Universidad Pablo de Olavide
Email: pedroromerovidal123@gmail.com
Co-author Information
Name: Barbosa, Jomar M.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7869-5533
Institution: Miguel Hernández University
Email: jomarmbarbosa@gmail.com
Co-author Information
Name: Blanco, Guillermo
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5742-4929
Institution: Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales
Email: gblanco@mncn.csic.es
Co-author Information
Name: Hiraldo, Fernando
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9347-9895
Institution: Department of Conservation Biology, Doñana Biological Station
Email: hiraldo@ebd.csic.es
Co-author Information
Name: Carrete, Martina
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3038-7424
Institution: Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Universidad Pablo de Olavide
Email: mcarrete@upo.es
Co-author Information
Name: Tella, José L.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3038-7424
Institution: Department of Conservation Biology, Doñana Biological Station
Email: tella@ebd.csic.es
CITATION
Romero-Vidal et al., (2024), Raw data for: Habitat Protection Alone Is Insufficient: Costa Rican Parrots Thrive in Altered Landscapes but Remain Vulnerable to Poaching, Dryad, Dataset
DATA & FILE OVERVIEW
This data repository consists on the following files:
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Document containing information on each file and instructions for use (README.md).
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CSV document containing raw data concerning the road-surveys conducted in Costa Rica; details are described in “Metadata” section (surveys_costa_rica.csv)
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CSV containing data concerning habitat analyses at the patch level (patch_data.csv)
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CSV document containing raw data for pets founded during surveys conducted in Costa Rica in people houses or establishments, including illegal native pets and legal exotic pets; details are described in “Metadata” section (pet_costa_rica.csv)
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Text file containing data concerning habitat point level analyses (point_data.txt)
OTHER LINK TO DATA
https://observation.org/users/151753/
Metadata
surveys_costa_rica.csv
CSV document containing raw data concerning the road-surveys conducted in Costa Rica (surveys_costa_rica.csv). This CSV is extracted from the platform observation.org and it can be accessible by looking for the author’s name in this platform with more complete information.
Number of variables: 14
Number of cases/rows: 2952
Variables description:
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id: Identifier for each one of the observations of the data set.
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date: Date when the observation was made.
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time: This variable refers to the time of the day when observation was made.
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species name: This variable contains the full common name in English for each one of the observations.
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scientific name: This variable contains the scientific name for each one of the observations.
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family: This variable refers to the family for each one of the individuals observed during surveys.
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number: Number of individuals observed.
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activity: This variable refers to the activity individuals were conducting in the moment of the observation.
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method: This variable describes the different methods of detection of the individuals observed. Unknown is marked when observation method is not specified.
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counting method: Variable describing the different methods for counting individuals. Unknown is marked when counting method is not specified.
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source: Variable indicating the platform using for collecting the data.
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location: This variable indicates the name of the location (Country-Municipality) where the observation was done.
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lat: Exact latitude coordinate of the observation.
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lng: Exact longitude coordinate of the observation.
patch_data.csv
CSV document containing data concerning the habitat analyses at the patch level conducted in Costa Rica (patch_data.csv).
Number of variables: 58
Number of cases/rows: 950
Variables description:
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Km: Number of Km at the moment of the patch change during the transect.
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Kmpatch: Length in Km of the specific patch.
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status: This variable indicates the status of the transect. This variable is not for analysis, but rather indicates certain characteristics of a certain transect. “i” indicates the beginning, “-“ indicates the transect is ongoing, “r” indicates in this specific point a stop of certain time was done.
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habitat: Categorical variable describing the habitat type. m=mosaic habitat, mix of forest patches, clearings and agriculture; d= degraded habitat, secondary forest or recently cleared; n= natural habitat, well preserved forest; a= agricultural land, crops, tree plantations; u= villages and small towns.
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habitat_n: Categorical variable with numerical code. m=3, d=2, n=1, a=4 and u=5.
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habitat_n2: Categorical variable with numerical code. m=9, d=2, n=1, a=16 and u=25.
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trans: Numerical code indicating the transect number which each habitat patch is included.
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subtrans: Numerical code indicating the patch number inside each transect.
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Idtrans: ID of each patch.
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avianreg: Categorical variable indicating each one of the different regions where the transects are conducted.
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time: Categorical variable indicating three different ranges of hours where surveys were conducted. 1= Optimal time, 6:00am to 11:00 am; 2=Less optimal time, from 11:00 am until 14:00; 3= Second optimal time, from 14:00 to 18:00.
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obshabitat: This variable specifies certain characteristics of habitat. These are comments and are not for analysis. Empty cells indicate that there are not relevant comments.
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riqueza: Varaible indicating the value in richness of the patch, as a numeric value.
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richness/km: indicates the value in richness divided by the km of the patch.
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richness/km_red: indicates the value in richness of the patch divided by the km as a full value.
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shanon: Diversity value, calculating through the Shanon index, of each one of the patches.
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shanon/km: Diversity value, calculating through the Shanon index, of each one of the patches, divided by the km of each patch.
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Columns 19 to 37: Values in abundance for each one of the species recorded during surveys. Each one of the columns represents an specific species indicated by its name in the column.
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total loros: Total abundance of all the parrot species combined for each patch.
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total loros/km: Total abundance of all the parrot species combined for each patch, divided by the Km of the patch.
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total loros/km_red: Total abundance of all the parrot species combined for each patch, divided by the Km of the patch, as a full value.
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Columns 40 to 59: Values in abundance for each one of the species recorded during surveys, divided by the Km of the patch. Each one of the columns represents an specific species indicated by its name in the column.
pet_costa_rica.csv
CSV document containing raw data for pets found during surveys conducted in Costa Rica in people's houses or establishments, including illegal native pets and legal exotic pets (pet_costa_rica.csv)
Number of variables: 14
Number of cases/rows: 381
Variables description:
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country: Country where the data was collected.
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id: Identifier for each one of the observations of the data set.
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date_visit: Variable describing the date of each visit to the establishments were pats were detected. The date format is DDMMYYYY.
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year: Year of the observation.
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establishment_type: Type of establishment were the pets were detected.
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location_name: Name given to the location where the observation was made.
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origin: Variable indicating if the pet observed is native to Costa Rica (being illegal) or exotic to the country and bought in legal pet-shops.
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order: Variable indicating the order which each individual observed belongs to.
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species: Species name for each one of the individuals observed.
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number_individuals: Number of individuals observed.
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status: Status of the individual at the moment of the observation indicating if it was still with the owner (alive) or was already gone (dead, given, scape, stolen, seizure).
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exposed: Variable describing if the individuals were exposed, and in this case visible from the street, or hiding inside the houses or establishments.
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age: Categorical age of the individuals, divided in unknown, adult, juvenile and chick.
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coordinates_location: Exact coordinates of the observation.
point_data.txt
TXT document containing data concerning the habitat analyses at the point level conducted in Costa Rica (point_data.txt).
Number of variables: 23
Number of cases/rows: 1790
Variables description:
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id_geo: ID identifier of each one of the points.
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trans: ID identifier of a single transect, expressed as numbers.
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lat2: Latitude information in coordinates
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Lng2: Longitude information in coordinates.
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time: Categorical variable indicating three different ranges of hours where surveys were conducted. 1= Optimal time, 6:00am to 11:00 am; 2=Less optimal time, from 11:00 am until 14:00; 3= Second optimal time, from 14:00 to 18:00.
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Avian_reg: Categorical variable indicating each one of the different regions where the transects are conducted.
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crop_5km: Value of percentage of crop cover in a 5km buffer from the observation point.
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dist_conservation: Distance in Km from the observation point to the nearest protected area.
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forest2017_5km: Percentage of forest cover in a buffer of 5km from the observation point.
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hf_2009_5km: Human footprint value calculated in a 5km buffer from the observation point.
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pop_dist: Distance in km from the observation point to the nearest village or human settlement.
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crop_10km: Value of percentage of crop cover in a 10km buffer from the observation point.
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forest2017_10km: Percentage of forest cover in a buffer of 10km from the observation point.
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hf_2009_10km: Human footprint value calculated in a 10km buffer from the observation point.
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Riqueza: Richness value (number of species detected) in the specific point.
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n_groups_parrot: number of parrots flocks counted on this specific point.
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Nind: Number of individuals of parrots detected in the specific point.
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Presence: Binomial variable indicating presence (1) or non-presence (0) of parrots on the point.
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Nind_cat: Category of number of individuals. Not for analysis. Empty cells correspond to absence of individuals.
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Nind_cat8: Different category classification of number of individuals in a subgroup. Not for analysis. Empty cells correspond to absence of individuals.
FUNDING
Fundación Loro Parque funded this project SEJI/2018/024.