The Epizootiology and Ecological Significance of Malaria in Hawaiian Land Birds

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Laboratory and field experiments were conducted on the island of Hawaii from 19771980 in an effort to determine the impact of avian malaria on the forest birds. At 16 study sites from sea level to tree line in mesic and xeric habitat, birds were captured and bled to determine the host and altitudinal distribution of blood parasites. In the laboratory, six bird species were challenged with malarial parasites to measure host susceptibility. Distributions, activity cycles, and transmission potentials of malarial parasite vectors were also analyzed.