Will a warmer and wetter future cause extinction of native Hawaiian forest birds?

Abstract (from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.13005/abstract): Isolation of the Hawaiian archipelago produced a highly endemic and unique avifauna. Avian malaria ( Plasmodium relictum), an introduced mosquito-borne pathogen, is a primary cause of extinctions and declines of these endemic honeycreepers. Our research assesses how global climate change will affect future malaria risk and native bird populations. We used an epidemiological model to evaluate future bird–mosquito–malaria dynamics in response to alternative climate projections from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Climate changes during the second half of the century accelerate malaria transmission and cause a dramatic decline...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Avian, Birds, Forests, Malaria, Pacific Islands CASC, All tags... Wildlife and Plants, Fewer tags

As Climate Warms Hawaiian Forest Birds Lose More Ground to Mosquitoes

ISLAND OF HAWAI‘I, Hawaii — Hawai‘i, the name alone elicits images of rhythmic traditional dancing, breathtaking azure sea coasts and scenes of vibrant birds flitting through lush jungle canopy. Unfortunately, the future of many native Hawaiian birds looks grim as diseases carried by mosquitoes are due to expand into higher elevation safe zones. A new study published in Global Change Biology, by researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, assesses how global climate change will affect future malaria risk to native Hawaiian bird populations in the coming century. Read More in the USGS Press Release: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=4270#.Vjo2436rSUl

Tags: Avian, Birds, Birds, Forests, Hawai'i, All tags... Malaria, Mosquitoes, Pacific Islands CASC, Wildlife and Plants, Fewer tags