2026-10-07T04:58:38Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33968932 2026-09-23T02:24:50Z category_26887 category_26932 category_26941 category_26950 category_24355 category_24217 portal_12 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

<b>Recent establishment of an invasive mosquito and an emerging avian malaria system on Rangitāhua, a remote island</b> Richard O'Rorke (10811748) Jacqueline Beggs (1196010) Biosecurity science and invasive species ecology Conservation and biodiversity Environmental management Wildlife and habitat management Infectious agents Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology) Avian Malaria Malaria parasites Culex quinquefasciatus male Culex pipiens Complex Culex quinquefasciatus female Mosquito ecology vector host preferences Island ecosystems Biosecurity <p dir="ltr">Island ecosystems are highly vulnerable to invasive vectors and pathogens, yet many lack baseline information needed to detect emerging disease systems. Rangitāhua, approximately 1000 km northeast of mainland Aotearoa New Zealand, has had limited prior mosquito monitoring and no assessment of avian parasites. We conducted an integrated field and molecular study to identify mosquito species, assess haemosporidian parasite prevalence in mosquitoes and birds, and evaluate mosquito feeding ecology. We report the first observation of introduced mosquitoes from the <i>Culex</i> <i>pipiens</i> complex - <i>Culex quinquefasciatus. </i>This is alongside the endemic <i>Culex pervigilans</i>. Four Haemosporidian species were detected in birds and mosquitoes, which align with <i>Plasmodium elongatum</i>, <i>P. vaughani</i>, <i>P. relictum</i> and <i>P. matutinum,</i> although only the latter exactly matched sequences in public databases. <i>Plasmodium</i> prevalence was high in tūī (<i>Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae</i>) and introduced passerines (<i>Turdus merula</i> and <i>T. philomelos</i>), whereas no haemosporidian infections were detected in kākāriki (<i>Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae</i>), although sample sizes were limited. Among female mosquitoes, parasite detection was greater in the native <i>Cx. pervigilans </i>(41%) than in <i>Cx. quinquefasciatus</i> (4%). Detection of <i>Plasmodium</i> in both birds and mosquitoes indicates active local transmission, although marked heterogeneity among bird and mosquito species suggests uneven transmission dynamics. DNA metabarcoding indicated that mosquitoes utilised a broad range of native and exotic plant taxa, which may facilitate their persistence in a resource-limited island environment. Together, we provide evidence of an emerging vector–pathogen system on a remote island and demonstrate the value of integrated ecological and molecular approaches for understanding invasion processes in island ecosystems.</p> 2026-09-23T02:24:50Z Dataset Dataset 10.17608/k6.auckland.33968932.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/_b_Recent_establishment_of_an_invasive_mosquito_and_an_emerging_avian_malaria_system_on_Rangit_hua_a_remote_island_b_/33968932 CC BY 4.0