Skip to content

An introduced mosquito and bird malaria point to local transmission on Rangitāhua

Research: Ecology, Disease, parasites & microbiology

Rangitāhua lies about 1,000 km northeast of mainland Aotearoa New Zealand. A new study reports the island’s first record of the introduced mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus, alongside its endemic mosquito, Culex pervigilans. The finding is consistent with recent establishment, but limited past monitoring means it does not reveal exactly when the introduced mosquito arrived.

Parasites in birds and mosquitoes

The researchers detected four genetic lineages of Plasmodium, the parasites that cause avian malaria, in birds and mosquitoes. Mosquitoes can carry these parasites between birds, and the authors interpret their detection in both as evidence of active local transmission. Three lineages were most closely related to P. elongatum, P. vaughani and P. relictum, but did not exactly match sequences in public databases. The fourth matched the LNN1 lineage of P. matutinum.

Parasite prevalence was reported as high in tūī and in two introduced birds, the Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula) and Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos). No haemosporidian parasites—a group that includes Plasmodium—were detected in the sampled kākāriki, although the sample size was limited. Among female mosquitoes, parasites were detected more often in endemic C. pervigilans than in introduced C. quinquefasciatus: 41% compared with 4%.

A DNA-based analysis also indicated that mosquitoes used a broad range of native and introduced plant taxa. The authors suggest that access to varied plant resources may help mosquitoes persist on an island where resources are limited.

The differences among bird and mosquito species suggest that transmission is not evenly distributed across Rangitāhua’s wildlife. Together with the first record of an introduced mosquito, the findings describe an emerging avian-malaria system on the island, while leaving the date of the mosquito’s arrival uncertain.

Sources and image credit

  1. Recent establishment of an invasive mosquito and an emerging avian malaria system on Rangitāhua, a remote islandPrimærkilden er et preprint. Selve Research Square-siden var utilgjengelig under kontrollen; publiseringsdatoen og sammendraget kunne kontrolleres via Sciety, som viser Research Square-versjonen.
  2. Recent establishment of an invasive mosquito and an emerging avian malaria system on Rangitāhua, a remote islandViser sammendraget og datoen for første versjon av preprinten. Brukt som tilgjengelig indeks til primærkilden.

Image: Andreas Trepte / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5. Representative photograph. · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Ecology

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula Explore species Song Thrush Turdus philomelos Explore species

Independent research and conservation news archive

Did you find this information useful?

Wildlife Vagabond is independently built and maintained. Voluntary support helps cover source verification, hosting and continued work on research and conservation news.

Support Wildlife Vagabond

The news archive will remain freely available.