Latest news with #AmericanBirdConservancy
NDTV
a day ago
- Science
- NDTV
Why Mosquitoes Are Being Dropped Using Drones In Hawaii? Scientists Explain
Scientists are dropping swarms of mosquitoes using a giant drone in the remote forests of Hawaii. Though the experiment may seem straight out of a horror sci-fi movie, the scientists are dropping these hated insects to resurrect life in Hawaii. The beautiful tropical island is facing an extinction crisis. Colourful songbirds known as honeycreepers that were once abundant in Hawaii are struggling to survive because of avian malaria, transmitted by invasive mosquitoes. To help these birds rebound, scientists have now come up with a plan. The drones are being used to drop lab-reared, non-biting male mosquitoes that have been engineered to carry a bacteria strain that interferes with reproduction. By continuously releasing these special males into honeycreeper habitats where malaria is spreading, scientists are hoping to erode the population of biting mosquitoes and thus suppress the spread of disease. The project is being spearheaded by "Birds, Not Mosquitoes", a coalition of nonprofit organisations working to protect native Hawaiian birds. Since the mosquito project started in November 2023, they have released over 40 million males in honeycreeper habitats in Maui and Kauai. "What this does is it erects an invisible barrier so that these mosquitoes can't get up to the forests where these birds remain," Chris Farmer, Hawaii program director at American Bird Conservancy, a conservation group that's leading the drone effort, told Vox. 'Without significantly reducing invasive mosquito populations, multiple native bird species will disappear forever in the near future. At least 33 species of honeycreeper are now extinct, and many of the 17 that remain, including the Kiwikiu and ʻĀkohekohe on Maui, and ʻAkekeʻe on Kauaʻi, are highly endangered," he added. Though it is unclear at this stage if unleashing the reproductively challenged mosquitoes was yielding any result, scientists remain hopeful that they might be able to save the honeycreepers population. Notably, mosquitoes are not native to Hawaii. But after a whaling ship accidentally brought them to the islands in 1826, they proliferated and thrived in the warm, humid climate.
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Science
- Miami Herald
Rare chicks ‘once shrouded in mystery' hatched in Brazil. See ‘blue-eyed' babies
In 2015, an ornithologist conducting field work in Brazil heard a sound he hadn't heard before. It was the call of a bird, and hoping to identify it, Rafael Bessa recorded the sound and played it back. Then, a blue-eyed ground dove appeared for the first time in more than 70 years, according to the American Bird Conservancy. In the years since the rare bird's rediscovery, researchers and wildlife officials have been working across the globe to try and protect the critically endangered species. From the Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom, bird experts flew to Brazil to help the species take another step forward. 'Conservationists are celebrating the successful hand-rearing of a trio of blue-eyed ground doves (Columbina cyanopis), a rare species found only in Brazil,' the Chester Zoo said in a June 18 news release. 'With fewer than 11 adults left in the wild, the successful breeding of these chicks brings hope for the future of the species.' Researchers are learning more about the species 'once shrouded in mystery,' the zoo said, as well as what has been threatening their population. A team selected a few wild-laid eggs to try and incubate in a 'specially designed breeding facility' to provide 'around-the-clock care and attention' to the 'tiny and delicate birds,' according to the release and a June 18 Facebook post. 'The hope is that once the blue-eyed ground doves reach maturity, they'll begin breeding in their specially designed aviaries at Parque das Aves, growing the insurance population for the species,' the zoo said. 'The long-term vision is to build a strong, self-sustaining population that will help secure the future of the blue-eyed ground dove in the wild.' The species was once plentiful in Brazil's savanna, or Cerrado, until farming and timber plantations took over the landscape, according to the zoo. Today, the species is only found in Botumirim, Minas Gerais, in east-central Brazil, the zoo said. Blue-eyed ground doves are known for their cinnamon-colored feathers and their vibrant blue eyes, matched by blue spots on their wings, according to the American Bird Conservancy. The doves eat seeds and small insects found living in the soil, the conservancy said, and relies on native grass species to provide a habitat for its prey. Their population is also near freshwater and has been seen foraging in the shallows for food. 'Seeing these chicks is exciting. Each hatching represents a real chance to reverse the fate of this species. It is a joy and also a great responsibility. With the arrival of these three new individuals, Parque das Aves is now home to six blue-eyed ground doves. All are being carefully monitored and are part of a coordinated reproductive management plan,' Paloma Bosso, technical director of Parque das Aves, said in the release. Chester Zoo is in Chester, in west-central England. The Parque das Aves is in southwestern Brazil, near the borders with Paraguay and Argentina.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Drones drop mosquitoes over Maui to save honeycreepers
Conservationists working to save Hawaii's endangered, native birds are now using drones to deliver lab-reared, male mosquitoes over Maui. The male mosquitoes have a special purpose—to mate with wild females in the forests while carrying a naturally occurring bacteria that results in sterile eggs, thereby breaking the breeding cycle and reducing the population. Scientists hope this 'incompatible insect technique ' will reduce the overall mosquito population in order to combat avian malaria, the primary cause of decline in Hawaiian honeycreeper species. Over time, they hope these native bird populations will then have a chance to recover. 'Reducing invasive mosquito populations is absolutely critical in preventing the extinction of Hawaii's vulnerable honeycreepers, ' said Chris Farmer, the American Bird Conservancy's Hawaii Director, in a statement. 'We have the technology to break the avian disease cycle in Hawaii, and a fighting chance to restore populations.' He called the drone deployment a milestone, saying he expects the new technology to expedite the delivery of millions of mosquitoes, with more flexibility. The first drones were deployed over Maui in April, according to drone pilot Adam Knox, after some engineering to figure out the best way to release them over the remote terrain. Knox is testing out three different types of drones for the release of the mosquitoes, which are released inside of cone-shaped pods made of biodegradable paper pulp. Each pod contains about 1, 000 mosquitoes. These pods are placed inside of a special transport box attached to the drone—sort of like a cooler—that keeps the pods at a controlled temperature due to the sensitivities of the male mosquitoes. Several pods are released at a time. In order to release the pods, Knox, ABC's aerial deployment of mosquitoes project manager, had to work with his team to figure out a release mechanism that would work over mountainous terrain with significant elevation changes, strong winds, frequent rains, and mist. The drops have to be consistent while flying over thousands of acres despite these challenges. Knox said the test flights have shown it can be done by drone, which can be more flexible than manual drops via helicopter, without risks to humans on aerial flights. It is the first known instance of specialized mosquito pods being dropped by drones. 'There is a whole new world out there in terms of utility with this tool, ' Knox said. 'This opens up a lot of possibilities now and into the future.' Knox expects to continue refining the process, and to test out the drones over Kauai as well, in the near future. Manual drops via contracted helicopters, meanwhile, have been ongoing since November 2023, twice a week, and will continue. Conservationists are racing to save several Hawaiian birds—specifically native honeycreepers—on the brink of extinction. Last summer the akikiki on Kauai was declared, meaning only a handful were left in the wild and that the species could not sustain itself in the wild. Some akikiki, however, are being raised in captivity by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Scientists believe if no action is taken, mosquitoes could cause other Hawaiian bird species to quickly decline and vanish. Farmer said at least 33 species of honeycreeper are now extinct, and many of the 17 that remain, including the kiwikiu and akohekohe on Maui, and the akekee on Kauai, are highly endangered. The kiwikiu, or Maui parrotbill, found on the slopes of Haleakala, have a population of less than 150 individuals. The akohekohe, or crested honeycreeper, also found in the high-elevation forests of Haleakala, have a population of fewer than 2, 000. Due to climate change, mosquitoes have begun to move to higher elevations than in past years, he said, encroaching on the last remaining refuges available to surviving honeycreepers. The birds are facing numerous obstacles to survival, including habitat loss and degradation due to grazing by hoofed animals, along with invasive predators such as rats that prey on their eggs and chicks. The No. 1 drivers of the extinction crisis are believed to be mosquito-borne diseases such as avian malaria and avian pox. Scientists say a single bite from an infected mosquito could be fatal to a honeycreeper. Reducing mosquitoes After years of study and analysis—and a—a multi-agency group made up of ABC, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources and others, embarked on the mosquito suppression project. Collectively, the group calls itself Birds, Not Mosquitoes, and it has stood strongly behind the mission to reduce the invasive southern house mosquito population in high-elevation forests across the state to stem avian malaria. The male southern house mosquitoes do not bite or transmit diseases, according to experts, but carry a certain strain of Wolbachia bacteria which results in unhatched eggs. The project was opposed by Hawaii Unites, a nonprofit community group, that in 2023 to stop the multi-agency group from continuing the project. Hawaii Unites, founded by president Tina Lia, expressed concerns about releasing any 'biopesticide lab-reared Wolbachia-bacteria-infected mosquitoes ' on the fragile ecoystems of Halaekala National Park or Hawaii's other forest reserves. The group was concerned about unforeseen consequences of releasing the lab-reared mosquitoes. Both the state Board of Land and Natural Resources and National Park Service had approved a 300-page environment assessment and finding of no significant impact for the project. Hawaii Unites said a more comprehensive environmental impact statement was needed. But a state Environmental Court ruled the project could go forward—and following an appeal by Hawaii Unites arguing that the EA did not have enough science and documentation to back its claims of being safe for the environment—an appeals court in April. Birds, Not Mosquitoes prevailed in obtaining regulatory approvals to move forward on its conservation plan. Conservation drones It is not the first time drones have been deployed to combat invasive species in Hawaii. DLNR has shared in recent years that it used drones to drop citric acid over parts of Oahu, including Waimanalo and Kuliouou, in order to help control invasive coqui frog populations. The deployment of mosquitoes with Wolbachia also has been used in the past in Texas and California, as well as Mexico, Singapore, Thailand and Australia to reduce mosquito-born diseases such as dengue, Zika and Chikungunya. The use of the incompatible insect technique to help reduce avian malaria in Hawaii, however, is a novel one. Farmer likes to describe the process as a sort of 'invisible barrier to protect our birds high up in the forests.' While predator-proof fencing has been erected at refuges and forests to protect birds and ohia trees, this introduction of sterilizing male mosquitoes forms a sort of 'mosquito-proof fence.' Conservationists believe their mission is time-critical, and that the project must move forward quickly. They are hopeful, but say it will take time to determine how effective this technique is in saving Hawaii's native honeycreepers. 'It takes time to knock them (invasive mosquitoes ) down and to reduce the population, ' Farmer said. 'We're monitoring and analyzing data. As soon as we can tell one way or another, we'll certainly let the public know.'
Vox
6 days ago
- Science
- Vox
Scientists are dropping live mosquitoes out of drones in Hawaii. Here's why.
is an environmental correspondent at Vox, covering biodiversity loss and climate change. Before joining Vox, he was a senior energy reporter at Business Insider. Benji previously worked as a wildlife researcher. It sounds like something out of a nightmare: a giant drone flying through the sky and dropping containers full of live, buzzing mosquitoes, one of the world's most hated insects. But in Hawaii, this scenario is very much real. A remotely operated aircraft, about 8 feet long, is flying over remote forests in Maui and releasing cup-shaped capsules full of mosquitoes. As scary as it might sound, the project is a clever solution to a problem that has long plagued the Hawaiian islands. Hawaii faces an extinction crisis: It has lost hundreds of animals in the last two centuries, including dozens of land snails and birds, largely due to the spread of non-native species like stray cats and feral pigs. Many native animals found nowhere else on Earth are now gone for good. And several of the creatures that remain are heading in the same direction. Scientists on the islands are quite literally racing to save what wildlife remains. For the state's avian species — its iconic forest birds, significant, too, to Indigenous Hawaiian culture — the main force of extinction is malaria, a mosquito-borne disease. Mosquitoes, a nonnative pest, were introduced accidentally in the early 1800s by a whaling ship. The blood-suckers proliferated across the islands and later began spreading avian malaria, a blood-borne pathogen they transmit through their bites. A species of honeycreeper from Kauai called the 'akikiki is now considered functionally extinct in the wild. Robby Kohley/American Bird Conservancy The kiwikiu, or Maui parrotbill, is another endangered species of honeycreeper. It lives on Maui. Robby Kohley The disease, which can be fatal, utterly devastated the state's forest birds, and especially a group of species in the finch family known as honeycreepers. There were once more than 50 species of these colorful songbirds across Hawaii, and today all but 17 are extinct. As I've observed firsthand, the forests here have grown silent. The few honeycreeper species that persist today have been able to evade malaria largely because they live in higher elevations that are too cold for mosquitoes. But now, climate change is warming the islands, allowing the insects to march uphill into the remaining avian strongholds. Some experts describe this as an 'extinction conveyor belt.' Saving these birds is quite literally a race against the clock. That's where the drone comes in. Related Welcome to the extinction capital of the world Fighting mosquitoes with mosquitoes For more than a year now, a group of environmental organizations have been dropping biodegradable containers of mosquitoes into honeycreeper habitats on Maui and Kauai from helicopters. Now they're starting to do it with giant drones. The containers fall to the ground without a top, and when they land the insects escape into the forest. Critically, these are not your typical mosquitoes. They're all males, which don't bite, that have been reared in a lab. More importantly, they contain a strain of bacteria called wolbachia that interferes with reproduction: When those males mate with females in the area, their eggs fail to hatch. (That's thanks to a bit of biology magic, referred to as the incompatible insect technique, or IIT.) Researchers test out aerial mosquito releases using a drone. Adam Knox/American Bird Conservancy The idea is to continually release these special males into honeycreeper habitat where malaria is spreading as a way to erode the population of biting mosquitoes — and thus suppress the spread of disease. The approach has little ecological downside, said Chris Farmer, Hawaii program director at American Bird Conservancy, a conservation group that's leading the drone effort. Mosquitoes are not native, so local ecosystems and species don't rely on them. 'What this does is it erects an invisible barrier so that these mosquitoes can't get up to the forests where these birds remain,' Farmer told Vox. Since late 2023, a coalition of organizations known as Birds, Not Mosquitoes has unleashed more than 40 million male mosquitoes across Maui and Kauai. Nearly all of those were in containers tossed out of helicopters, which allow scientists to deliver the insects to remote forest regions where the birds remain. The group is now testing drones as an alternative. While the helicopters can carry more mosquitoes than drones in one flight — around 250,000, compared to about 23,000 — drones are safer because they're unmanned. They're also easier to fly on demand, says Adam Knox, the drone pilot and project manager for aerial deployment of mosquitoes at American Bird Conservancy. Dropping mosquitoes out of drones and choppers may sound unreal, but it's the best idea out there to help Hawaii's honeycreepers, said Marm Kilpatrick, an avian malaria expert at the University of California Santa Cruz. Kilpatrick is not affiliated with the mosquito-release project. 'The reason that it's worth doing is that so far, we haven't discovered anything else that can possibly do this better,' Kilpatrick told Vox. Scientists don't yet know if unleashing reproductively challenged mosquitoes is working and causing the resident mosquito population to crash. It's too soon to tell and the research is still underway, according to Christa Seidl, the mosquito research and control coordinator at Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, a group leading avian conservation on the island. But the same approach has worked elsewhere — to stem mosquitoes that spread diseases among humans. Global health advocates have released mosquitoes with wolbachia strains that disrupt reproduction in other parts of the world and seen a massive decline in the incidence of, for example, dengue fever. 'It sounds weird to say, but we're standing on the shoulders of human disease,' Farmer said. 'The IIT we're using for conservation was first developed for human health.' Endgame for mosquitoes? Ultimately, the goal is not total elimination of mosquitoes that carry avian malaria in Hawaii. That's likely impossible, Kilpatrick said, unless scientists could release millions or even billions of lab-grown insects all at once. For the time being, the plan is to regularly — and indefinitely — release the mosquitoes into forests with some of the most endangered birds, such as the kiwikiu, 'ākohekohe, and ʻakekeʻe. Barring any regulatory or technical problems, drone deployments will soon be a regular part of that effort.
Newsweek
23-05-2025
- General
- Newsweek
Heartbreak at What Woman Finds in Muddy Puddle: 'Poor Babies'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. In a touching TikTok video, a woman named Wendy Hockenberry shared what she discovered in a muddy puddle near her home, leaving internet users in tears. The heartbreaking clip, shared on May 12 under the username @wendyhockenberry, shows an owl mom and her three babies stuck in a muddy puddle, which was originally their nest, before getting flooded by rain. "What can I do to help these borrowing owls," the woman writes in the clip, as she spots another adult owl watching over them from the side of the road. "Oh my God, you guys, my poor babies, look!" the poster can be heard saying as she films them. There are over 250 species of owls in the world, living in almost every continent except for Antarctica. The National Geographic says that most species live above ground except for the burrowing owl; this is a small bird found in North and South America that usually nests in abandoned hollows dug by other animals. About 19 owl species of different sizes can be found throughout America, each of them with incredible hunting skills. The great horned owl is perhaps the most widespread across the North American continent, with 3.9 million found across the U.S. and Canada. There are 3.2 million barred owls, and 2 million northern saw-whet owls. However, some species are endangered; for example, the northern spotted owl has been protected by the Endangered Species Act since 1990. While owls are incredible nocturnal hunters, the dangers they face are often overlooked, says the American Bird Conservancy website. It adds that threats to their habitat, pesticides, and vehicle collisions have already sent a third of all owl species in the U.S. into decline. Stock image: A person wearing flowery pink rain boots, splashing in a puddle. Stock image: A person wearing flowery pink rain boots, splashing in a puddle. getty images The video quickly went viral on social media and has so far received over 479,900 views and 26,500 likes on the platform. One user, Brittdenise, commented: "They looking at you like dang is she going to help or just stand and record." Kristianneearnha9 posted: "Get the animal control people ASAP. There might be some babies in that hole. I hope I'm not talking to you too late." Machell Hunter added: "Please tell me you rescued those babies and if so can I please come get one?" Newsweek reached out to @wendyhockenberry for comment via TikTok comments. We could not verify the details of the case. Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
