One of the most dramatic and troubling impacts of accelerating climate change is the expansion of mosquito range into upper elevation Hawaiian forests. Avian malaria, a disease transmitted by invasive mosquitoes, is driving the potential extinction of four native honeycreepers: ‘akikiki, ‘akeke‘e, kiwikiu, and ʻākohekohe. Kiwikiu and ‘akikiki have fewer than 200 birds remaining and could go extinct in the next two years. A single bite from an infected mosquito can kill. State and federal conservation managers will share a recent study that provides the most up-to-date scientific and biocultural information available to help guide emergency management decisions, aimed at saving the birds.
What:
News Conference
When:
Thursday, April 14, 2022
1:00 p.m.
Where:
Kalanimoku State Office Building, 1151 Punchbowl (mauka breezeway)
Who:
- David Smith, Administrator, DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife
- Dr. Robert Reed, Deputy Director, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center
- Stanton Enomoto, Senior Program Director, U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Native Hawaiian Relations
- Dr. Earl Campbell, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office
The news conference will be streamed live on the DLNR Hawai‘i Facebook page. Media unable to attend in person will be able to pose questions via chat.