Kauaʻi record · KCA-MICRO-000017
Avian malaria parasite
Plasmodium relictum
Open this record in the interactive AtlasKauaʻi evidence
Claims remain limited to cited evidence; direct Kauaʻi occurrence is not inferred from statewide relevance unless explicitly stated.
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Plasmodium relictum
- Common names
- Avian malaria parasite
- Other names
- avian malaria · avian malaria parasite
- Family
- Plasmodiidae
- Order
- Haemospororida
- Record type
- species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Documented in Kauaʻi forest bird conservation context
- Origin
- Introduced
- Conservation status
- High
- Evidence date
- 2026-09-13
- Evidence limits
- Claims remain limited to cited evidence; direct Kauaʻi occurrence is not inferred from statewide relevance unless explicitly stated.
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Forest birds and introduced mosquito vector network
- Ecological role
- protist parasite / Apicomplexa with Kauaʻi-relevant ecological, disease, food-web, or biosecurity pathway.
- Food and resource needs
- Forest birds and introduced mosquito vector network
- Reproduction
- Not specified in Microorganisms v1.0.0
- Shelter
- Forest birds and introduced mosquito vector network
- Substrate
- Forest birds and introduced mosquito vector network
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Primary disease pressure for Kauaʻi honeycreepers and high-elevation bird conservation
- Conservation actions
- High
- Monitoring
- Kauaʻi-specific abundance, seasonal dynamics, host specificity, strain identity, micro-site behavior, and specialist-source assertions should be expanded as source material is contributed.
- Data gaps
- Kauaʻi-specific abundance, seasonal dynamics, host specificity, strain identity, micro-site behavior, and specialist-source assertions should be expanded as source material is contributed.
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not specified in Microorganisms v1.0.0
- Seasonal description
- Avian malaria parasite is included because it is relevant to Kauaʻi conservation, agriculture, freshwater/reef function, disease ecology, biosecurity, or public environmental health.
Sources and further reading
- https://www.usgs.gov/diseases-of-terrestrial-wildlife/avian-malaria;https://www.fws.gov/project/saving-kauai-forest-birds;https://kauaiforestbirds.org/disease/;https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dofaw/comment/kauaimosquito/
- USGS — Avian Malaria
- https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70111733
- Saving Kauaʻi Forest Birds
- Kauaʻi Forest Bird Recovery Project — Disease
- Kauaʻi Mosquito Suppression project context