Avian malaria is a primary cause of native Hawaiian honeycreeper declines and extinctions. Without management of the disease or its vector, the southern house mosquito, several endangered honeycreepers will become extinct within one to ten years, and remaining species will continue to decline. Additionally, climate change has enabled the spread of mosquitoes and malaria into previously unaffected habitats, especially on Maui and Kauaʻi. The application of Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) in key native forests and translocation of birds to refugia with lower disease prevalence on Hawaiʻi Island provide hope for critically endangered birds on other islands. We conducted surveys of bird and mosquito populations in high elevation native forests on Hawaiʻi Island in 2022 to assess their viability for conservation translocations and priority for mosquito control efforts. Initial results indicate avian malaria prevalence ranges from 0 to 0.75±0.15 (SE) in key indicator bird species. Mosquito surveys did not detect mosquitoes in some forests, while other locations housed moderate populations of mosquitoes that could transmit avian malaria locally. These data suggest that while some Hawaiʻi Island forests are viable targets for translocations of species from other islands, others are already in need of IIT and other forms of mosquito control to protect existing species. We will also provide updates on the current state of conservation actions aimed at protecting honeycreepers from extinction.

Cara Thow works for the Division of Forestry and Wildlife and Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit in Hilo, Hawaiʻi as the Avian Disease Research Supervisor. She leads a team as a part of a statewide effort to assess the prevalence of avian malaria in high elevation populations of birds and mosquitoes, with a goal of informing future conservation efforts such as application of incompatible insect technique and translocation of critically endangered birds. Cara’s abiding passion for wildlife culminated in obtaining her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2019, with an emphasis on avian behavior. She has previously worked for San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory and the United States Geological Survey monitoring shorebird and waterbird populations in Northern California, and for the National Ecological Observatory Network monitoring forest and climate variables on Hawaiʻi Island. She has been a member of the Wildlife Society since 2007 and is the current president of the Hawai'i Chapter.