Honeycreepers are a diverse group of birds found only in the forests of the Hawaii Islands, where they thrived for millions of years. But now, some species may disappear within the decade thanks to a growing threat: avian malaria.
Honeycreepers have had a rough time for the past couple of hundred years, with human settlers bringing habitat destruction and invasive predators like marauding mongooses. But their biggest threat yet is avian malaria, a disease carried by invasive mosquitoes. The disease, highly deadly to many of the island’s remaining 17 species of honeycreeper, is spreading fast as climate change warms high elevation forests that were once too cool for mosquitoes to flourish. It could cause at least four species to go extinct in the next 10 years.
To save them, conservationists are pinning their hopes on a type of mosquito birth control, reports Scientific American. The method, called the “incompatible insect technique,” introduces male mosquitos with a unique strain of gut bacteria into the local population; when mosquitoes with different strainstry to mate, they can’t reproduce.
Starting in November, researchers are planning to parachute millions of these mosquitos onto the island of Maui, where two of the most endangered honeycreeper species live. If their plan pays off—and the males are unable to reproduce with local females—they hope this will crash the mosquito population in time to save honeycreepers from extinction.
When a disease is brought to a location where it wasn’t previously present, it is considered an introduced disease. Introduced diseases typically have a bigger impact on wildlife than native diseases, because exposed species haven’t had time to evolve natural defenses to fight off the novel pathogens.
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Hawaiian honeycreepers are a group of songbirds endemic to the Hawaiian islands, all descended from a single species that arrived from the mainland six to seven million years ago. They are considered a dramatic example of adaptive radiation, a phenomenon in which a single species rapidly diversifies into many different ones. At one point, there were more than 50 different honeycreeper species on the islands, each sporting its own unique coloration, beak shape, and diets.
One of the major threats to Hawaiian honeycreepers is a deadly, mosquito-borne disease called avian malaria. Similar to malaria that infects humans, the disease is caused by parasites that enter honeycreepers’ bloodstreams when they are bitten by a disease-carrying mosquito.
Hawai’i is home to a broad, beautiful array of birds species found only on its islands—like the stunningly diverse honeycreepers, many on the border of extinction. Now, a local team is removing invasive predators, restoring habitats, and battling mosquito-borne diseases to protect honeycreepers from their latest threat: avian malaria.
Christa Seidl is a disease ecologist with over 10 years of experience leading research and conservation projects in Hawai'i, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Madagascar, Ecuador, and California with private, public, and industry partners.
Laura Bertholdis an Avian Research Field Supervisor at the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project (MFBRP) assisting with planning and implementing research and management projects for native honeycreeper and forest recovery.
In addition to the impact of avian malaria, Hawai’i’s endangered honeycreepers are threatened by habitat loss and invasive predators — two problems that harm native bird populations everywhere, likely in your own back yard. Whether you’re looking to help Hawai’i’s birds, or if you’re hoping to make a difference to protect birds locally, the solutions […]
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Jay Penniman has worked as an independent contractor doing forestry, wildlife, and vegetation surveys, management, and assessment. Since 2006, he has worked for the Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit of the University of Hawaii managing the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project.
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