Hawaii
Researchers track risk of avian malaria to future of Hawaii’s native birds
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A new study published Tuesday is helping scientists understand why avian malaria is present in almost all of the same places that mosquitoes are found in Hawaii.
Research out of the University of Hawaii at Manoa suggests that avian malaria can be transmitted by nearly all forest bird species in the state.
The study found that 63 out of 64 sites across the islands had avian malaria, including areas with diverse bird communities.
“Avian malaria has taken a devastating toll on Hawaii’s native forest birds, and this study shows why the disease has been so difficult to contain,” said Christa Seidl, mosquito research and control coordinator for the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, who conducted this research as part of her PhD at the University of California Santa Cruz.
The disease, which is caused by a parasite, poses a serious risk of population declines and even extinctions in native Hawaiian honeycreepers.
Seidl says the key to protecting native birds from avian malaria is controlling mosquito populations.
“When so many bird species can quietly sustain transmission, it narrows the options for protecting native birds and makes mosquito control not just helpful, but essential,” Seidl said.
Studies have shown that iʻiwi, or scarlet honeycreepers, had a 90% mortality rate if infected with avian malaria.
The akikiki, a Hawaiian honeycreeper native to Kauai, is now considered extinct in the wild.
“We often understandably think first of the birds when we think of avian malaria, but the parasite needs mosquitoes to reproduce, and our work highlights just how good it has gotten at infecting them through many different birds,” Seidl said.
The study analyzed blood samples from more than 4,000 birds across Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii Island.
Researchers found that both introduced birds and native birds often had overlapping levels of infectiousness, meaning both groups can spread the disease.
The broad ability of avian malaria to spread likely explains why the disease is so prevalent across the islands.
Seidl and the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project are part of Birds, Not Mosquitoes, a group that aims to tackle mosquito control for the future of Hawaiian bird conservation.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Hawaii County Surf Forecast for March 04, 2026 | Big Island Now
Forecast for Big Island Windward and Southeast
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| North Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| East Facing | 3-5 | 4-6 | 4-6 | 5-7 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Numerous showers. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||||
| Winds | East winds 5 to 10 mph. | ||||||
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| Weather | Partly sunny. Numerous showers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the upper 70s. | |||||
| Winds | East winds 10 to 15 mph. | |||||
|
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| Sunrise | 6:37 AM HST. | |||||
| Sunset | 6:27 PM HST. | |||||
Forecast for Big Island Leeward
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| West Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 1-3 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly sunny until 6 PM, then mostly cloudy. Hazy. |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||||||||
| Winds | West winds around 5 mph early in the afternoon, becoming light and variable. |
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|
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| Weather | Partly sunny. Hazy. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the mid 80s. | ||||||||
| Winds | Light and variable winds, becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. |
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| Sunrise | 6:41 AM HST. | ||||||||
| Sunset | 6:31 PM HST. | ||||||||
The current moderate northwest swell will continue a gradual decline through Thursday. A small west-northwest swell will arrive on Friday and hold through the weekend, followed by a small north-northwest swell early next week. Choppy east shore surf will build to near seasonal average by Wednesday as trade winds strengthen over and east of the islands. Little change is expected along east facing shores through the weekend, followed by a possible decline early next week if winds veer southerly. Surf along south facing shores will remain small to tiny through the weekend, and some islands may an increase in choppy surf if southerly winds develop early next week.
NORTH EAST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi choppy with ESE winds 5-10mph in the morning increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon.
NORTH WEST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Clean in the early morning with ESE winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions move in during the morning hours with the winds shifting W 5-10mph.
WEST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi glassy in the morning with N winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting WNW 5-10mph.
SOUTH EAST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Light sideshore texture in the morning with NE winds 10-15mph. This becomes Sideshore texture/chop for the afternoon.
Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov and SwellInfo.com
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