The hawaiian islands, filled with beautiful and diverse habitats that contain many species
found nowhere else on earth. And several of these species... Are in trouble.
*Sweet warrior drum beats made by travis plays*
I'm Travis and I'll be your guide for exploring the decline of hawaii's native
forest birds, Avian Malaria, and how scientists, and the kauai forest bird recovery project
are preventing and studying the disease.
*sad music about to play*
Many factors are contributing to the decline in Hawaii's forest bird populations, loss
of habitat, climate change.. invasive species, but none more than...
disease...
Avian Malaria and avian poxvirus are spread by human introduced mosquitos. Historically, mosquitoes did not
exist on hawaii and native bird species never developed resistance to mosquito transmitted
diseases. Because of this, mosquitoes have devastated many native bird populations.
For example Here on the island of Kauai, Both the Akikiki and Puaiohi have less than 500
individuals left in the wild.
These individuals and many other forest birds once had a large range across the island,
but are now restricted to living in high elevation areas where mosquitoes cannot live due to
colder temperatures. This small area is the Alakai, and this rainforest is the last safe
haven for birds on Kauai from Avian Malaria. However, due to climate change these cooler
safe havens are warming and mosquitoes are now encroaching on these areas. Further threatening
the forest birds.
But this is where we come in. We are the birds last line of defense in this rain forest.
And For the next few months will be Living and working in the Alakai to determine mosquito
abundance, avian malaria prevalence, and to work on methods of diminishing the overall
mosquito population. All This will be done by 3 different procedures, Mosquito traps,
Stream Surveys, and Mosquito pool treatments.
Lets get to it.
Each week starts with a long hike into the Alakai. The views along the way are like
none other in the world… and… it's all part of the job. Once in the rain forest, the sights
become smaller, and closer, Like the friendly Elipio. The elipio is the most abundantly
seen bird here due to it's tolerance to avian Malaria, and it's curious nature.
At the beginning of the season all our supplies, equipment and food is flown into camp.
Which allows us to begin our first task, setting up mosquito traps.
Traps are set up in a grid around a targeted stream in the Alakai. We will be conducting
most of our work around a specific stream, so to protect its exact location, i picked
a random one for this ariel example.
Each trap site is hiked to while carrying all the trap equipment. The streams become
our highways for the next several months as they are the fastest way of traversing through
parts of the rainforest. It can be a bit dangerous and tricky, so the buddy system is in full effect.
Once the trap location is found via GPS, A tarp is tied up for rain and we begin setting
up the two different adult mosquito traps.
Travis: "Alright so this is here is our B G trap, this is going to attract females
that are looking for a prey. We have the CO2 right here, this is our bait, this is pumping
co2 into here, and as you know CO2 is what animals exhale and what mosquitoes are attracted to.
We also have a stinky stick, which…
ugh…
smells a bit like stinky feet…
it also tries to attract them. So how it works is the CO2 and this stinky stick will bring
in the mosquitos and then this fan in here will suck them into this bag.
And that's how we check them.
While I set up the next trap, Theo will explain the type of bait we use for it.
Theo: "So what I'm pouring right here is some grade A stinky water. So gravid or
pregnant females seek out water that has decaying or decomposing plant matter in it. So what
we do is create a hay infusion with yeast and a couple other enzymes, and it brings
them right into the traps, and we collect them in the morning."
Here's how we use it in the traps
Travis: "And this is a reiter trap. This is going to attract the pregnant females who
are looking to lay eggs. So we dump the stinky water in.. and the stinky water will attract
the females with its stinky smell, and they will want to lay eggs in the water, but as
they land on top of the water to lay their eggs, the fan will suck them up in this black
tube, and then into this net. And that's how we catch them."
In the late evening, The trap fans and CO2 is turned on and left on overnight, when mosquitoes are most active.
*Cool music plays that i made on Ukulele*
When morning comes, we can begin checking the traps for mosquitoes.
Each morning we hike back out to all the traps that were set the prior evening.
Travis: "Nothing in that"
"Three mosquitoes, here we go."
"Boo yaa!"
Before I aspirate the mosquitoes, let's jump into some quick id-ing.
Currently there are only two species of mosquitoes making its way into the Alakai, Aedes japonicus
and Culex quinquefasciatus. The Culex have solid colored legs and a white or tan abdomen.
While the aedes are easy to pick out with their white striped legs and dark abdomen.
But it's the Culex species that we are after. They are the carriers and transmitters of
avian malaria.
The mosquitoes are sucked out of the net with an aspirator, and yes there is a mesh in the
tube to keep them from flying in our mouth. They are then gently blown into a cup for
transport. To determine malaria prevalence and mosquito abundance, All mosquitoes caught
during the week are kept alive and hiked out on the weekend where they will be shipped
to the big island and tested for malaria.
Travis: "So, I need to keep these mosquitoes alive, in order to do that i need to mix up
some sugar water, and then put it in this little cotton ball and then they can drink
the sugar water out of the cotton ball. So i don't know if you knew this but mosquitoes
don't survive on sucking peoples blood,
normally they're nectar drinkers, they drink sugar water.
The only time they go after blood is when they need a big extra boost of protein
for laying their eggs.
Because these mosquitoes were caught in our BG trap, it means they are most likely reproductively
active females attracted to the CO2 and looking for a blood meal.
Travis: "So males and females not looking to reproduce will be drinking nectar.
There that should keep them alive."
When we finish checking all the traps in the morning, we can then start looking for mosquito
larvae by doing stream surveys. But first, a little exploring
*Sick disco type music i made plays*
*Feel those sick four on the floor beats while the piano enters your soul*
The stream is broken up into 10 meter sections and mosquito larvae habitat is thoroughly
looked for in each section. Stream surveys are done routinely as a way to standardize
looking for Mosquito larvae pools and to make sure we check every possible area along the stream.
Dippers are used to sample the water and look for larvae, and Any aquatic insect found is
identified and recorded. Mosquito larvae require stagnant or very slow moving water to survive
in, so we are mostly on the lookout for small pools next to the stream like these ones.
These small rock pools have larvae in them, however these are Aedes. And If you recall
we are after culex species. Here's how we tell the difference.
The mosquito life cycle consists of adult, Egg, Larva, and Pupa. Here in the Larval stage
the Aedes and Culex look very similar except for the siphon. The siphon is a tube that
allows the larva to breath air , its like their snorkel, and the Culex siphon is much
longer than the Aedes.
Here they both are in a pipet, it's a bit difficult to film such small individuals,
but you can just make out the difference in siphon lengths
*music*
So far we have found plenty of aedes pools, but no culex pools.
Travis: " Nothing, Ehh nothing, nothing again, nothing"
And as the season goes on we check traps every morning,
do stream surveys during the day,
and replace battery and CO2 tanks as they get used up.
And yes, when it rains…
we still work,
and sometimes it never stops..
It can be overwhelming at times,
but we endure throughout the field season.
Travis: "Well i forgot my rain jacket, and it's raining again,
...in the rain forest.
Who would have thought?
Who... would have thought.."
*Thunder*
Travis: "Breakfast in the alakai swamp. The rainforest seems to have stripped away
every sense of humanity in Stephanie as she's resulted in eating pork Jerky for Breakfast"
Stephanie: "I like pork jerky…"
Theo: "What is this, week four?"
Travis: "I think so. Half way through"
Theo: "More than that"
Stephanie: "...And to be fair I've been having pork jerky every morning"
All: Laughs
Theo: "Broken on day one"
Travis: "Alright so this is camp. This is how we dry a lot of our stuff. We use the
exhaust from the generator. So that's fun.
This is the Weatherport dinner and breakfast
table. Tonight Stephanie is cooking a nice stew of chicken and rice, and green beans."
Stephanie: "Cause we deserve greens"
Travis: "Yes we don't eat very many vegetables out here.
Travis: "So this is the inside of the weatherport. Theo is taking his daily IBuprofen from all our terrible hikes."
Travis: "Ya this is where we keep all our food. These action packers down here keep
all our non canned food safe from the rats. And the rats are everywhere,
especially on Theo's bed at night.
And then this is the other end of the weatherport, this is where
we all sleep. Nothing Fancy here. That's it."
The Akikiki's are insectivores, here one enjoys a caterpillar. With less than 500 individuals,
The kauai forest bird recovery project monitors them by color banding adults and fledglings
to determine survival and distribution rates. Having such low numbers, it's imperative to
monitor them and try to reduce as many threats as possible, such as rats, non native birds,
and of course mosquitoes.
*Cool chill music that i made*
During a routine stream survey, Theo awkwardly suggests i check for mosquito pools up this
thorn infested drainage.
I oblige.
Travis: "Ow! Jeeze o Pete!
Yup Culex! Second and Third!"
Travis: "Yup, Ow… Ow.. Ok"
We have a culex pool we can treat now. And actually we found several more of them.
Mosquito pools are treated with BTI, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis. This biological
control is a bacteria found naturally in soils and specifically targets mosquitoes, black
flies and fungus gnats. Extensive studies have shown that it has little to no effect
on any other species, because of this it is used all over the world and is sold commercially
and publically. You might have seen it in stores as mosquito dunks or mosquito bits.
Here's how it works. Once in the water the bacteria is ingested by the mosquito larva.
Inside the larva's midgut the bacteria releases a protein crystal. The crystal dissolves and
releases a toxin that will only bind with specific receptors on cells of the mosquitoes
midgut. The toxin then forms a small pore in the cell causing the cell to fill with
water, expel its contents and burst. All cells in the midgut bursts and the larva dies. And
since the toxin only binds with the receptors found in mosquitoes, fungus gnats and black
flies, it does not harm any other animal, plant, or human.
This has been tested and proven in different environments around the world, but those results
still need to be replicated here in hawaii before BTI can be used regularly. And that's
just what we're doing.
Before the pool is treated with BTI we need a population estimate of all the aquatic organisms
in the pool, as well as a nearby control pool that does not have culex in it. In each pool
100 dips are taken systematically. Any organism caught is identified and counted.
Here's some of the things we catch.
Stephanie: "Three Copepods"
Copepods are very tiny crustaceans. Dragonfly larva, called Aeshnidae.
Theo: "Two Micro"
Microvelia, which are very small water striders.
Theo: "Eight micro, one Megalagrion"
And Megalagrions are damselfly larva.
When counting Mosquito larva we are also noting what instar the larva is. Each development
stage after molting is known as an instar. The 4th instar doesn't eat much and the
pupa doesn't eat at all. So optimal conditions for BTI to work are pools with 1st 2nd and 3rd instars.
After the 100 dips, the pool is treated. 24 hours later both the untreated control pool
and treatment pool is sampled again. Just as suspected all the mosquito larva are dead
and other organisms unaffected. Here a megalagrion is actually enjoying the free meal of a dead culex.
Another 48 hr, 72 hr, and week sample are done to make sure all mosquito larvae
are gone and other organism populations stay the same.
And this brings us to the end of the season. We did our best, but There are some obvious
drawbacks to the traps and pool treatments. There are many places we simply cannot set
up traps and areas with adult mosquitoes that we cannot find.
Travis: "Thats a LOT of flies"
And BTI treatment is limited,
by the fact that not every mosquito pool can be located.
However there is an alternative option for large scale mosquito control, and once again
It's bacteria, Wolbachia. This naturally occurring bacteria lives in symbiosis with many insect
species including culex mosquitoes in hawaii. Hawaii has several different strains of wolbachia,
and different strains are incompatible with one another. Meaning if a male mosquito mates
with a female with a different strain of wolbachia, the resulting eggs will not be fertilized.
Therefore, If lab bred male culex mosquitoes, which don't bite, were given a strain of
wolbachia, then were released into the wild and bred with wild females with a different
strain of wolbachia, no offspring would be produced, and the mosquito population would
be significantly reduced within one generation. This phenomenon is already being implemented
in Florida and California to help prevent the spread of other Mosquito transmitted diseases.
Also, Wolbachia can only survive in insects and cannot transfer to other animals.
Currently, The university of Hawaii and Department of Land and Natural Resources are researching
this future opportunity, but will first need full government and public support.
*Soft gentle guitar music plays*
Maybe one day invasive mosquitoes will be under control in hawaii, It would give these
birds a chance. But until that happens nonprofits such as the Kauai Forest Bird recovery project
will continue fighting to keep these birds alive. I'm Travis and thanks for watching.
*Yet another sweet jam made by travis for the credits. Guitar, keyboard, ukulele all used for it*
*Key change in song*
*Key change back with piano melody up a 5th*
* I did all the work yet again...*
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