Recovery of Endangered Birds in Hawaii Relies on Millions of Invasive Male Mosquitoes

Millions of invasive male mosquitoes will be released in Hawaii by experts, which may help the recovery of the state's threatened and endangered bird species.

Millions of Invasive Male Mosquitoes

In Maui, a Hawaiian Island, millions of mosquitoes may soon be released to save multiple native bird species from extinction.

Officials from the National Park Service declared on Thursday that they would proceed with a strategy to control invasive mosquito populations in order to lessen avian malaria transmission to endangered and threatened forest birds.

The purpose of the incompatible insect technique (IIT), as described by NPS, is to lower the reproduction rate of female mosquitoes within the boundaries of the project area by repeatedly releasing incompatible invasive male mosquitoes into the wild.

Following emotional testimony on Friday, the state's Board of Land and Natural Resources unanimously decided to advance the IIT plan as well.

This plan, IIT, has been under discussion since 2016. The plan is to release male mosquitoes of a different species into the wild to prevent female mosquitoes from breeding and infecting birds with the disease.

When two mosquitoes carry bacteria that are incompatible with one another and lay eggs, the eggs do not hatch, according to Haleakala National Park's Jin Harlow. Female mosquito populations may start to decline in a few weeks, according to Harlow. He also emphasized that since male mosquitoes do not bite and cannot spread disease, they pose no threat to people or other animals, NPS reports.

Threatened and Endangered Birds

According to experts, female mosquitoes have been infecting native Hawaiian birds with avian malaria for decades. As temperatures rise, the mosquitoes are now moving upwards towards the mountains and spreading the disease.

Bret Mossman, from the Hawaii Island Natural Area Reserve System, said that he has personally witnessed the harm that these mosquitoes can cause, including the loss of bills due to pox lesions, the disabling of even the largest and healthiest birds to malaria to the point where they are unable to move, and ultimately death.

There are only 650 akohekohe and 140 akakiki left on Kauai and nowhere else in the world, according to the Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project's Lisa Crampton. The situation is also the same in Maui.

The BLNR voted on Friday to move the plan forward, stating that there is no time to waste because bird species are rapidly disappearing.

According to Chris Farmer, the American Bird Conservancy's program director for Hawaii, there may only be 135 akohekohe and kiwikiu left in the world by the end of the next decade.

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Approval

Before letting the mosquitoes into the wild, some opposers of the plan contend that more research should be conducted. A BLNR member challenged this idea by listing more than a dozen other states in the US that have employed comparable strategies and failed.

Following the testimony, Dawn Chang, chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, declared that she thought the environmental assessment was sufficient. If they don't take action, according to Chang, it becomes irresponsible.

The Environmental Protection Agency will review the plans before giving their final approval. Project leaders anticipate beginning the mosquito release this summer, The Hill reports.