Mawarid (Oman Animal and Plant Genetic Resources Centre) of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation hosted another Science Café session on “Invasive Birds and their Impact on the Environment in the Sultanate of Oman” at Al Araimi Boulevard recently.
Invasive birds are defined as species of birds that live outside their natural range in habitats, which are usually very harmful, as they cause important changes in natural ecosystems or indigenous biodiversity, and colonise an area in a large way, causing damage to the environment or the local agricultural economy, and they are usually non-native species.
On the other hand, not all non-native birds are naturally invasive birds, many of them can adapt to different ecosystems without causing harmful effects, and the same species that are considered invasive in one area may not be harmful in another, and therefore can be considered non-native.
Among the most important types of invasive birds in the Sultanate of Oman are the myna bird, the house crow, and the rose-ringed parakeet, which cause harmful effects on the ecosystem in the Sultanate of Oman in general and Dhofar Governorate in particular.
The Science Café is a dialogue session that discusses a number of important scientific topics in an informal meeting held once a month outside the work offices. It contributes to raising awareness among the general public about scientific issues related to genetic resources and how to deal with them on a daily basis by organising monthly dialogue sessions that will continue until the end of May.
