Latest news with #forests
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Thousands of mosquitoes are being dropped by drone over islands in Hawaii. Here's why
Editor's Note: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex's Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action. In June, dozens of biodegradable pods fell from the sky over the forests of Hawaii. Each one, delivered by drone, contained about 1,000 mosquitoes. These weren't just any mosquitoes — they were non-biting, lab-reared male mosquitoes carrying a common bacterium that results in eggs that don't hatch when the males mate with wild females. The hope is that they will help to control the archipelago's invasive mosquito population, which is decimating native bird populations, such as rare Hawaiian honeycreepers. The birds, which are key pollinators and seed dispersers and also play a central role in Hawaiian culture, are in dire straits. There were once more than 50 known species of honeycreepers in Hawaii, but today there are only 17 left, most of which are endangered. Last year, the 'akikiki, a small gray bird, went functionally extinct in the wild, and less than 100 of the yellow-green ʻakekeʻe are estimated to remain. Development and deforestation have had an impact, but according to Dr. Chris Farmer, Hawaii program director for the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the 'existential threat' is avian malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes. The insects are not native to Hawaii, but were first reported in 1826, likely unintentionally carried over by whaling vessels. 'They caused waves of extinction,' says Farmer, as many native birds, such as the honeycreepers, had no resistance to the disease. Since mosquitoes thrive in the warmer tropical habitats in the low elevations of Hawaii's islands, the remaining honeycreepers found a refuge higher up in the mountains of islands such as Maui and Kauai, he explains. Now, this is changing. 'With climate change, we are seeing warmer temperatures and we're watching the mosquitoes move up the mountains,' he says. '(In places like Kauai) we're watching the populations of birds there just completely plummet.' 'It's a constant march of mosquitoes moving up as the temperatures allow them and the birds getting pushed further and further up until there's no habitat left that they can survive in. 'If we don't break that cycle, we're going to lose our honeycreepers,' he adds. Searching for a solution Conservationists have been searching for a solution to control mosquito populations and provide a lifeline to the honeycreepers. But dealing with mosquitoes on a landscape scale is difficult, says Farmer, who explains that the use of pesticides, for instance, would also damage native insect populations such as damselflies and fruit flies that are vital to ecosystems. Because mosquitoes are also such a huge threat to human health, spreading human malaria, dengue fever and the zika virus, among others, scientists have been studying the problem for decades, coming up with various solutions, including the incompatible insect technique (IIT). This involves releasing male mosquitoes that have a strain of naturally occurring bacteria called Wolbachia, which causes non-viable eggs when they mate with wild females. Over time, with repeated releases, the wild population should decline as a result. In 2016, ABC, together with Birds, Not Mosquitoes, a multi-agency partnership dedicated to protecting Hawaiian honeycreepers, decided IIT had the best chance of succeeding in Hawaii and started to investigate how to apply the same technique to mosquitoes transmitting avian malaria. 'The mosquito that transmits avian malaria is different from the one that transmits human malaria,' explains Farmer, so they began testing various strains of Wolbachia within the southern house mosquitoes found in Hawaii to determine which one was most effective. The process took several years, due to 'a combination of the science, community engagement and the regulatory process,' says Farmer, adding that, naturally, 'whenever you say, 'I want to release millions of mosquitoes in the forest,' people have a lot of very legitimate questions.' In 2022 they started ramping up production, rearing millions of mosquitoes with the chosen Wolbachia strain in a laboratory in California. The following year, they started releasing the insects in areas where the honeycreepers live in Maui, dropping them in biodegradable pods from helicopters. 'We have a rough estimate for how many mosquitoes there are in the wild, and we try to release 10 times as many of these Wolbachia mosquitoes, so (that they) find these females and are able to mate with them, and then their eggs don't hatch,' says Farmer. 'Right now, we're releasing 500,000 mosquitoes a week on Maui and 500,000 mosquitoes a week on Kauai,' he adds, using both drones and helicopters. According to Farmer, it's the first example globally of IIT being used for conservation purposes. If successful, he hopes it will inspire uses elsewhere. He warns, however, that while in Hawaii they felt confident using the technique because mosquitoes are an invasive species that have only been around for 200 years and therefore play no major ecological role, in other countries where they are native, the technique could have unintended repercussions to the ecosystem. Buying time One of the major barriers to releasing the insects in Hawaii has been the remote, mountainous terrain, prone to strong winds and unpredictable weather. The program has had to rely mainly on helicopters for releases, but these are expensive to run and there are a limited number on the archipelago, with competing needs for firefighting, safety and tourism, says Farmer. Often, missions have had to be called off last minute due to weather, he adds. This is where drones come in. After months of testing the aerial vehicles in demanding conditions, checking their range, and designing protective, temperature-controlled parcels that can safely carry mosquitoes and be fixed onto the body, they successfully started deploying mosquitoes by drone in June. It is the 'first known instance of specialized mosquito pods being dropped by drones,' says Adam Knox, project manager for ABC's aerial deployment of mosquitoes. 'We have more flexibility with deployment timing in areas that generally have very unpredictable weather and it's safer because no humans need to ride in the aircraft to deploy the mosquitoes.' It also 'reduces costs, team flight times, emissions and noise, which in turn means cheaper, more sustainable deployments,' he adds. Farmer expects it to be a year or so before they will see the results of the deployments and whether the IIT technique is working. However, he is hopeful that it will help 'buy time' for the birds to recover. A recent study from San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute found there is still time to save honeycreepers like the ʻakekeʻe from extinction if IIT mosquito control efforts are successful. Christopher Kyriazis, postdoctoral researcher from San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and lead author of the report, told CNN that their modeling demonstrated the urgency of the situation: 'If you wait even a couple years, the window narrows really quickly.' While IIT is 'ambitious' and has never been used on this scale for these sorts of conservation aims before, he believes 'there is hope for the species, if it can be effective.' If mosquito populations were under control, there is the possibility that the honeycreepers would have time to replenish populations and with more genetic diversity, and may even develop their own resistance to avian malaria. There are already signs of that happening with one honeycreeper species, the 'amakihi, on Hawaii Island, says Farmer. However, Kyriazis cautions that 'even if a (protective) mutation did arise at this point, for it to be able to spread through the population fast enough to save it is very unlikely.' A safer environment would also give the opportunity to reintroduce captive populations of birds like the 'akikiki; although it is extinct in the wild, some are being bred at bird conservation centers in Hawaii. For Farmer, being at the forefront of this effort and seeing birds go extinct is 'soul shattering.' But it also drives him. 'We have the ability to save these species,' he says. 'If we don't save these birds in this decade, then they probably won't be here for the future. And so the ability to make a difference in the world, make a difference in the future, motivates us all.' Solve the daily Crossword
CNN
5 days ago
- Science
- CNN
Thousands of mosquitoes are being dropped by drone over islands in Hawaii. Here's why
In June, dozens of biodegradable pods fell from the sky over the forests of Hawaii. Each one, delivered by drone, contained about 1,000 mosquitoes. These weren't just any mosquitoes — they were non-biting, lab-reared male mosquitoes carrying a common bacterium that results in eggs that don't hatch when the males mate with wild females. The hope is that they will help to control the archipelago's invasive mosquito population, which is decimating native bird populations, such as rare Hawaiian honeycreepers. The birds, which are key pollinators and seed dispersers and also play a central role in Hawaiian culture, are in dire straits. There were once more than 50 known species of honeycreepers in Hawaii, but today there are only 17 left, most of which are endangered. Last year, the 'akikiki, a small gray bird, went functionally extinct in the wild, and less than 100 of the yellow-green ʻakekeʻe are estimated to remain. Development and deforestation have had an impact, but according to Dr. Chris Farmer, Hawaii program director for the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the 'existential threat' is avian malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes. The insects are not native to Hawaii, but were first reported in 1826, likely unintentionally carried over by whaling vessels. 'They caused waves of extinction,' says Farmer, as many native birds, such as the honeycreepers, had no resistance to the disease. Since mosquitoes thrive in the warmer tropical habitats in the low elevations of Hawaii's islands, the remaining honeycreepers found a refuge higher up in the mountains of islands such as Maui and Kauai, he explains. Now, this is changing. 'With climate change, we are seeing warmer temperatures and we're watching the mosquitoes move up the mountains,' he says. '(In places like Kauai) we're watching the populations of birds there just completely plummet.' 'It's a constant march of mosquitoes moving up as the temperatures allow them and the birds getting pushed further and further up until there's no habitat left that they can survive in. 'If we don't break that cycle, we're going to lose our honeycreepers,' he adds. Conservationists have been searching for a solution to control mosquito populations and provide a lifeline to the honeycreepers. But dealing with mosquitoes on a landscape scale is difficult, says Farmer, who explains that the use of pesticides, for instance, would also damage native insect populations such as damselflies and fruit flies that are vital to ecosystems. Because mosquitoes are also such a huge threat to human health, spreading human malaria, dengue fever and the zika virus, among others, scientists have been studying the problem for decades, coming up with various solutions, including the incompatible insect technique (IIT). This involves releasing male mosquitoes that have a strain of naturally occurring bacteria called Wolbachia, which causes non-viable eggs when they mate with wild females. Over time, with repeated releases, the wild population should decline as a result. Related article The world's smallest elephants are facing extinction. One woman has a plan to save them In 2016, ABC, together with Birds, Not Mosquitoes, a multi-agency partnership dedicated to protecting Hawaiian honeycreepers, decided IIT had the best chance of succeeding in Hawaii and started to investigate how to apply the same technique to mosquitoes transmitting avian malaria. 'The mosquito that transmits avian malaria is different from the one that transmits human malaria,' explains Farmer, so they began testing various strains of Wolbachia within the southern house mosquitoes found in Hawaii to determine which one was most effective. The process took several years, due to 'a combination of the science, community engagement and the regulatory process,' says Farmer, adding that, naturally, 'whenever you say, 'I want to release millions of mosquitoes in the forest,' people have a lot of very legitimate questions.' In 2022 they started ramping up production, rearing millions of mosquitoes with the chosen Wolbachia strain in a laboratory in California. The following year, they started releasing the insects in areas where the honeycreepers live in Maui, dropping them in biodegradable pods from helicopters. 'We have a rough estimate for how many mosquitoes there are in the wild, and we try to release 10 times as many of these Wolbachia mosquitoes, so (that they) find these females and are able to mate with them, and then their eggs don't hatch,' says Farmer. 'Right now, we're releasing 500,000 mosquitoes a week on Maui and 500,000 mosquitoes a week on Kauai,' he adds, using both drones and helicopters. According to Farmer, it's the first example globally of IIT being used for conservation purposes. If successful, he hopes it will inspire uses elsewhere. He warns, however, that while in Hawaii they felt confident using the technique because mosquitoes are an invasive species that have only been around for 200 years and therefore play no major ecological role, in other countries where they are native, the technique could have unintended repercussions to the ecosystem. One of the major barriers to releasing the insects in Hawaii has been the remote, mountainous terrain, prone to strong winds and unpredictable weather. The program has had to rely mainly on helicopters for releases, but these are expensive to run and there are a limited number on the archipelago, with competing needs for firefighting, safety and tourism, says Farmer. Often, missions have had to be called off last minute due to weather, he adds. This is where drones come in. After months of testing the aerial vehicles in demanding conditions, checking their range, and designing protective, temperature-controlled parcels that can safely carry mosquitoes and be fixed onto the body, they successfully started deploying mosquitoes by drone in June. It is the 'first known instance of specialized mosquito pods being dropped by drones,' says Adam Knox, project manager for ABC's aerial deployment of mosquitoes. 'We have more flexibility with deployment timing in areas that generally have very unpredictable weather and it's safer because no humans need to ride in the aircraft to deploy the mosquitoes.' It also 'reduces costs, team flight times, emissions and noise, which in turn means cheaper, more sustainable deployments,' he adds. Farmer expects it to be a year or so before they will see the results of the deployments and whether the IIT technique is working. However, he is hopeful that it will help 'buy time' for the birds to recover. A recent study from San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute found there is still time to save honeycreepers like the ʻakekeʻe from extinction if IIT mosquito control efforts are successful. Christopher Kyriazis, postdoctoral researcher from San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and lead author of the report, told CNN that their modeling demonstrated the urgency of the situation: 'If you wait even a couple years, the window narrows really quickly.' While IIT is 'ambitious' and has never been used on this scale for these sorts of conservation aims before, he believes 'there is hope for the species, if it can be effective.' If mosquito populations were under control, there is the possibility that the honeycreepers would have time to replenish populations and with more genetic diversity, and may even develop their own resistance to avian malaria. There are already signs of that happening with one honeycreeper species, the 'amakihi, on Hawaii Island, says Farmer. Related article The fish collectors hoping to save rare species from extinction However, Kyriazis cautions that 'even if a (protective) mutation did arise at this point, for it to be able to spread through the population fast enough to save it is very unlikely.' A safer environment would also give the opportunity to reintroduce captive populations of birds like the 'akikiki; although it is extinct in the wild, some are being bred at bird conservation centers in Hawaii. For Farmer, being at the forefront of this effort and seeing birds go extinct is 'soul shattering.' But it also drives him. 'We have the ability to save these species,' he says. 'If we don't save these birds in this decade, then they probably won't be here for the future. And so the ability to make a difference in the world, make a difference in the future, motivates us all.'
New York Times
6 days ago
- Science
- New York Times
For 1st Time, Fires Are Biggest Threat to Forests' Climate-Fighting Superpower
In 2023 and 2024 the world's forests absorbed only a quarter of the carbon dioxide they did in the beginning of the 21st century, according to data from the World Resources Institute's Global Forest Watch. Those back-to-back years of record-breaking wildfires hampered forests' ability to tuck away billions of tons of carbon dioxide, curbing some of the global warming caused by emissions from burning fossil fuels. Those two years also marked the first time wildfires surpassed logging or agriculture-driven deforestation as the biggest factor lowering forests' carbon-capturing ability. It's an emerging pattern that's different from the last big drop, in 2016 and 2017, which was largely the result of increased deforestation for agriculture. Source: World Resources Institute Note: Each bar represents annual net emissions of forests Harry Stevens/The New York Times Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, acts as a blanket in the atmosphere, trapping the sun's heat and warming the environment. In some places, rampant burning and deforestation have tipped the scales, turning forests into a source of carbon dioxide emissions instead of a tool for capturing them. Removing carbon from the atmosphere is 'an unpaid service by trees and forests toward slowing climate change,' said Nancy Harris, research director of both WRI's Global Forest Watch and Land and Carbon Lab. 'When we lose that function, we have to work even harder to cut emissions.'So far, Dr. Harris said, 2025 doesn't seem far behind the trend. The year started with devastating blazes across Los Angeles and by midsummer, saw major wildfires that raged across Europe and broke records in Korea. And this week, Canada is entering the peak of fire season and the country is already on track for its second-worst year of wildfires on record. Source: World Resources Institute Note: Data averaged over the years 2001 to 2024 Harry Stevens/The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Gizmodo
7 days ago
- Science
- Gizmodo
Lightning Kills Way More Trees Than Anyone Thought, New Research Suggests
We've all seen dramatic footage of lightning striking a mighty tree, its branches going up in flames. But how often does this actually happen? Researchers didn't know how much lightning impacted forests—until now. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a computer model to provide what they claim to be the first estimate of lightning's impact on forest ecosystems around the world. According to their study, lightning affects forests more than previously thought. Specifically, they suggest that around 320 million trees die each year from lightning strikes, not including the trees that die in lightning-induced wildfires. 'Lightning is an important yet often overlooked disturbance agent in forest ecosystems,' the researchers explained in the study, published last month in the journal Global Change Biology. To make their estimate, they integrated observational data and global lightning patterns into a well-known global vegetation simulation. The computer model indicates that trees killed by lightning represent 2.1% to 2.9% of all plant biomass loss annually. While plants and trees absorb CO2 through photosynthesis during their lifetimes, they release a significant amount of it back into the atmosphere when they die and decay. As such, these figures are crucial to better understanding Earth's carbon cycling. With the combined model, 'we're now able not only to estimate how many trees die from lightning strikes annually, but also to identify the regions most affected and assess the implications for global carbon storage and forest structure,' Andreas Krause, lead author of the study and researcher at the Chair of Land Surface-Atmosphere Interactions, explained in a TUM statement. The biomass decay caused by the lightning-killed trees is estimated to emit between 770 million and 1.09 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually. According to the researchers, this is surprisingly high. For comparison, living plants burned in wildfires release around 1.26 billion tons of CO2 every year. Both of these figures, however, are dwarfed by the total wildfires CO2 emissions (including the combustion of deadwood and soil material), which is approximately 5.85 billion tons per year. 'Most climate models project an increase in lightning frequency in the coming decades, so it's worth paying closer attention to this largely overlooked disturbance,' said Krause. 'Currently, lightning-induced tree mortality is highest in tropical regions. However, models suggest that lightning frequency will increase primarily in middle- and high-latitude regions, meaning that lightning mortality could also become more relevant in temperate and boreal forests.' The researchers argue that ecosystem models need to account for lightning mortality in order to better predict vegetation dynamics. Interestingly, though, not all trees die after getting struck by lightning—in fact, some kinda like it.
The Herald
22-07-2025
- Health
- The Herald
We lose out when excluding indigenous knowledge in conservation
Where I come from, biodiversity is not separate from us. It does not belong to any government agency or board. The forests and rivers belong to the stories we share and pass down through generations. Some stories make us laugh, while others teach children to respect nature by inspiring a little fear. We gather herbs from the shrubs and forests. In my village, there are no fences marking boundaries, no ranger stations watching over the trees, and no signs declaring these places protected. Yet despite this, biodiversity continues to thrive. Animals live freely, plants grow wild, and the sounds of the rivers splash alive among us. People have lived like this for generations, quietly and respectfully coexisting with nature. That is why, when someone in the village falls ill and there is no access to a clinic's treatment, we do not turn to a pharmacy but to an elder who knows the secrets of the forest. They go into the forest and come back with a healing solution that has no price tag. Their knowledge of the land allows them to get healing directly from nature, without expense, and this method has been used for years. Sometimes I wonder, what if those forests had been closed off, declared a 'protected area' where access for the local people was restricted, and the traditional knowledge of our elders ignored as superstition? We would not have been able to get plants such as isiqhuziso to protect our cattle from infections and keep them strong. We would lose access to umhlondlo , which helps women relieve menstrual pain, and we would have nowhere to get umashiqolo for treating bile-related illnesses. While many of these remedies have not been studied or certified through formal science, they have our loyalty because of how they have helped our communities over generations. Their value lives in our continued survival. Losing that access would not just mean losing these plants; it would mean losing part of our identity, our healing traditions, and the deep relationship we have always had with the land that sustains us in so many ways. We have seen it happen in other parts of the country that were declared protected, at the cost of the community. For example, the Dwesa-Cwebe Nature Reserve, which was established in the mid-1980s and resulted in the forced relocation of residents. Even today, some of the locals still feel a deep sense of loss, believing this modern approach to scientific conservation came at the cost of their livelihoods and wellbeing. Elders who once led controlled burns or visited sacred rivers now watch from a distance. Though this may have been beneficial for natural biodiversity, it was detrimental to their everyday life. Therefore, in their exclusion and silence, there is much that we lose. We lose stories, knowledge, and the balance of interaction. This is not how conservation should be, and thankfully, it is not how SA National Parks (SANParks) sees the future either. SANParks Vision 2040 speaks of a future rooted in collaborative conservation, inclusivity, and the empowerment of communities as partners in protecting nature. It envisions parks that do not stand apart from people but stand with them. Where local voices shape environmental decisions, where indigenous knowledge is not treated as optional, but as essential. This vision gives me hope because it stands for what we have always known — that true conservation does not come from separation. It comes from a relationship and continuous learning. The plants that heal us do not need to be locked away at the risk of their extinction. They are still here because we have protected them ourselves daily with our hands, not with documents and policies. So as SANParks works towards Vision 2040, it would be important to look towards communities such as mine, not just for consultation, but for leadership. To learn from those who have conserved without any formal recognition. Let us make sure that 'protected area' never means 'people excluded'. Let it mean 'people empowered'. As we imagine new pathways for conservation that include indigenous voices and leadership, we must also rethink how people visit and experience these landscapes. This is where regenerative tourism becomes essential. Unlike traditional tourism, which is often consumer-centric, regenerative tourism seeks to give back more than it takes, to heal the land, revive local economies, and restore cultural knowledge. Imagine travellers coming not to consume an experience, but to learn from indigenous practices, to support local guides who share stories of their ancestors, and to participate in restoration activities that align with community values. This type of tourism invites people into the ecosystem of care, rather than checking off destinations. It becomes a way of keeping knowledge alive, encouraging deeper connections between visitors and the land, and supporting the communities who have always been its guardians. In the rural areas, we have learnt from walking among the trees, not from observing behind fences. But if we continue to keep people out, we risk more than separation; we risk forgetting. One day, the plants may still grow, but no-one will remember what they are for. The stories, the knowledge, and the relationship, all could vanish. And when that connection is gone, the forests may no longer help anyone at all, not because they cannot, but because no-one remembers how to connect with them any more. If the forests and rivers were never close to us, we would not have received their healing benefits for children and livestock, nor would their spiritual guidance have been passed down through generations. Uviwe Mahlanza is a SANParks communications intern based in the Garden Route National Park. She was born and bred in Mkambati Village in Bizana, Eastern Cape. The views and opinions expressed in this article are hers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SANParks. The Herald
