Experts have deployed lab-raised mosquitoes and high-tech drones into the Hawaiian wilderness to combat avian malaria and save rare birds from extinction, the American Bird Conservancy announced on its website.
"It's extremely exciting to have reached this project milestone," Adam Knox, a drone pilot for ABC, said in the announcement. "It took a lot of hard work … especially in one of the more challenging environments in the world."
Remotely operated aerial drones transported cones full of nonbiting, lab-raised, male mosquitoes across thousands of acres of mountainous terrain. The mosquitoes carried a common bacteria that renders a female's eggs sterile, ABC explained.
By delivering the lab-raised mosquitoes to areas deep in the wilderness, ABC and its partners sought to kill off invasive mosquitoes that carried avian malaria, a disease that has devastated local bird populations, including the Hawaiian honeycreeper.
"Without significantly reducing invasive mosquito populations, multiple native bird species will disappear forever in the near future," Chris Farmer, director of ABC's Hawaiʻi program, said in the announcement. "At least 33 species of honeycreeper are now extinct, and many of the 17 that remain … are highly endangered."
"Mosquitoes could cause other species to quickly decline and vanish if no action is taken," he warned.
By using aerial drones to deliver the mosquitoes, ABC and its partners were able to reach extremely remote, highly inaccessible areas without putting people at risk.
"It's safer because no humans need to ride in the aircraft as pilot and crew to deploy the mosquitoes," said Knox, the drone pilot.
And, unlike the piloted helicopters they replaced, battery-operated drones do not release planet-warming pollution into the air during operation.
If successful, similar techniques could be employed elsewhere to protect humans and wildlife. Mosquitoes are widely considered to be the world's deadliest animal, killing an estimated 700,000 people per year by spreading diseases such as malaria and Dengue, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Definitely 👍 By utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as lab-raised mosquitoes and drones, the American Bird Conservancy has created a model for what future mosquito-eradication efforts could look like.
"We have the technology to break the avian disease cycle in Hawaiʻi, and a fighting chance to restore populations," said Farmer, ABC's Hawaiʻi director. "These drone and mosquito suppression advancements have come just in time."
They might have come just in time for humans living in mosquito-ravaged areas of the world too. Rising global temperatures have created ideal conditions for mosquitoes to thrive, which will increase the spread of deadly diseases such as malaria.
It will take innovative approaches such as those the American Bird Conservancy has demonstrated to combat this challenge.
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