Hawaii Environment and Tourism

A new Nature Communications study led by scientists at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the University of California finds that nearly every forest bird species tested in Hawaii can infect mosquitoes with avian malaria, helping explain why the disease now appears almost everywhere mosquitoes are found across the islands. Analyzing blood from more than 4,000 birds at 64 sites on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island and running controlled feeding trials at different temperatures, researchers showed that both native and introduced songbirds carry low‑level infections for months or years that are still sufficient to infect mosquitoes. The findings underscore why avian malaria has been so devastating for Hawaii’s native forest birds — driving species like the ʻakikiki to extinction in the wild and pushing others to the brink — and why mosquito control is increasingly seen as essential to prevent further extinctions. While the parasite is related to human malaria, the bird‑specific strains cannot infect people, but scientists warn that even non‑fatal infections shorten birds’ lifespans and can affect their offspring by damaging telomeres. The work comes amid broader U.S. debates over how aggressively to deploy mosquito‑control tools, including genetic and biological methods, to protect native wildlife in sensitive ecosystems.