On the North American invasion of the House Sparrow and its absence in the Yucatan Peninsula

Abstract

Biological invasions occur when individuals of alien species establish and colonize new locations. The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is one of the most widespread invasive birds, native to Eurasia and North Africa, and has successfully invaded many regions from across the world. The House Sparrow was successfully introduced in 1852 into North America and quickly invaded most of the North American continent, except the Florida Peninsula. Currently, the species is found throughout agricultural and urban landscapes of North America except the Yucatan Peninsula. We analyzed the invasion process of the House Sparrow in order to determine why it is absent from the Yucatan Peninsula. For this, we focused our assessment on historical records of the species together with climatic variables. Using an ordination analysis, we compared the climatic space of the North American records for the House Sparrow with that of the Yucatan Peninsula, as well as those before and after the Florida Peninsula invasion, which took sparrows longer to fully colonize. We found that climate may represent an important driver in the process of invasion in the North American invasion of House Sparrows, probably delaying the Florida invasion, and so far, preventing the Yucatan Peninsula invasion. Our results suggest that the absence of the House Sparrow in the Yucatan Peninsula could be a temporal delay, as occurred in the Florida Peninsula; yet, climatic conditions in the Yucatan Peninsula show important differences from those of the Florida Peninsula. Given the species' plasticity and generalist life history traits, it is possible that the House Sparrow may overcome present climatic restrictions and invade the Yucatan Peninsula if proper management is not set in action.