Conservation and Management

The Puerto Rican Tody is listed as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (34 BirdLife International (2021). Species factsheet: Todus mexicanus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 02/02/2021. Close ). Although the entire population has not been estimated, it is described as common and does not appear to be declining at a rate that would suggest it should be listed as Vulnerable (34 BirdLife International (2021). Species factsheet: Todus mexicanus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 02/02/2021. Close ). The Puerto Rican Tody is one of the most common species in parts of Puerto Rico. Using a spot-mapping census approach, Waide (23 Waide, R. B. (1996). Birds. In The Food Web of a Tropical Rain Forest (D. P. Reagan and R. B. Waide, Editors), University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA. pp. 364-398. Close ) found that it was the fourth most abundant species in Puerto Rico, following Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola), Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo altiloquus), and Scaly-naped Pigeon (Patagioenas squamosa). However, due to threats such as invasive species and habitat loss, its conservation status may merit renewed scrutiny.

Habitat Loss and Degradation

Habitat destruction to create sun coffee plantations may negatively impact Puerto Rican Tody populations. The species is significantly less abundant in sun plantations compared to shade plantations due to the absence of canopy cover and lower diversity of insects (2 Borkhataria, R. R., J. A. Collazo, and M. J. Groom (2012). Species abundance and potential biological control services in shade vs. sun coffee in Puerto Rico. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 151:1-5. Close ). Additionally, rising temperatures, due to anthropogenic climate change, are likely to increase the intensity of storms (e.g., Hurricane Maria; 35 Patricola, C. M., and M. F. Wehner (2018). Anthropogenic influences on major tropical cyclone events. Nature 563:339-346 Close ), and there is some evidence of hurricanes negatively affecting tody populations in a variety of forest types throughout Puerto Rico (3 Lloyd, J., C. Rimmer, and J. Salguero-Faría (2019). Short-term effects of hurricanes Maria and Irma on forest birds of Puerto Rico. PLoS ONE 14(6):1–14. Close ).

Effects of Invasive Species

Invasive species, such as small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctatus), can result in increased nest predation rates for the Puerto Rican Tody (7 Kepler, A. K. (1972). A Comparative Study of Todies (Aves, Todidae), with Emphasis on the Puerto Rican Tody, Todus mexicanus. PhD thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Close ).