New Study Reveals How Non-Native Birds Fuel Spread of Avian Malaria in Hawaii

Research explains how all bird species in Hawaii, both native and introduced, play a role in transmitting the deadly disease.

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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A new study from the University of California, Santa Cruz has shed light on the mystery of how avian malaria, a disease that has decimated Hawaii's native bird populations, is spreading so widely across the islands. The research found that both native and non-native bird species in Hawaii are capable of transmitting the malaria parasite to mosquitoes, contributing to the disease's pervasive distribution.

Why it matters

Avian malaria has already led to the extinction of more than a dozen native Hawaiian bird species and continues to threaten those that remain. Understanding the role that different bird populations play in sustaining the spread of this deadly disease is crucial for informing conservation efforts to protect Hawaii's unique and fragile ecosystems.

The details

The study, led by PhD student Christa Seidl, combined laboratory experiments on the infectiousness of different bird species with field data on malaria levels in 17 bird species. The researchers found that most birds, regardless of whether they were native or introduced, were capable of transmitting the malaria parasite to mosquitoes, even at low levels of infection. This suggests that avian malaria can thrive in any warm, low-elevation habitat in Hawaii where mosquitoes are present, making it difficult to find refuges for the remaining native bird populations.

  • The study was published in February 2026.

The players

A. Marm Kilpatrick

An ecology and evolutionary biology professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz who oversaw the research.

Christa Seidl

The PhD student who led the work as part of her doctoral studies at UC Santa Cruz.

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What they’re saying

“What surprised us most was how effectively avian malaria was transmitted to mosquitoes, even from birds carrying vanishingly small parasite loads.”

— Christa Seidl, PhD student (Mirage News)

“The similarity in infectiousness among species helped explain the widespread distribution of malaria we found among sites with very different bird communities.”

— Christa Seidl, PhD student (Mirage News)

“The patterns of infection suggested that some species were fed on much more frequently than others by mosquitoes, and these species played a key role in transmission.”

— A. Marm Kilpatrick, Professor (Mirage News)

What’s next

The research team plans to continue studying the dynamics of avian malaria transmission in Hawaii, with the goal of informing conservation efforts such as mosquito control, captive breeding, and habitat restoration.

The takeaway

This study demonstrates that the threat of avian malaria in Hawaii is an ecological generalist, capable of spreading widely across the islands through both native and non-native bird populations. Protecting Hawaii's remaining endemic birds will require a multi-pronged approach to address this pervasive disease.