Bethany Woodworth publishes article in 'Ecosphere'

Bethany Woodworth, Ph.D., associate lecturer in UNE’s Department of Environmental Studies; Michael Samuel, Ph.D., assistant unit leader of the USGS Wisconsin Wildlife Research Unit; Carter Atkinson, Ph.D., research microbiologist at USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center; Dennis LaPointe, Ph.D., research ecologist at USGS Pacific Islands Ecosystems Research Center; and Patrick Hart, Ph.D., professor and chair of biology at the University of Hawaii, published an article titled, “Avian Malaria in Hawaiian Forest Birds: Infection and Population Impacts Across Species and Elevations,” in Ecosphere, a journal of the Ecological Society of America.

The article discusses the introduction of avian malaria to Hawaii in the early 1900s, and how it led to the extinction of many of the islands’ distinctive native birds, especially in low-elevation forests where mosquitoes that spread the disease are common.

The researchers used a modeling approach and data from four multi-year field studies to estimate disease transmission, mortality, survival and individual species impacts across an 1800-meter gradient of elevation and climate.

The results allow for greater understanding of the dynamics of emergent diseases in naïve populations, and the implications that climate changes have on vector-borne diseases. This information also provides important data that will aid in the conservation and preservation of Hawaii’s unique avifauna.

This research was part of the Biocomplexity of Introduced Avian Diseases Project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).