Changing climate and the altitudinal range of avian malaria in the Hawaiian Islands - an ongoing conservation crisis on the island of Kaua'i.

Abstract in brief

• The study explores how climate change, particularly rising temperatures, is expanding the range of avian malaria in Hawaii, especially at lower elevations where mosquitoes thrive, leading to increased infections in native bird populations.
• Researchers observed a significant rise in malarial infections and mosquito larvae at various altitudes over time, indicating that warming conditions are enhancing mosquito breeding and disease transmission.
• These changes are linked to environmental shifts like higher temperatures, reduced rainfall, and altered stream flow, which together threaten endangered bird species and may cause shifts in their habitats to higher elevations.]