Dennis LaPointe (Former Employee)

Plumage coloration in birds can be of major importance to mate selection, social signaling, or predator avoidance. Variations in plumage coloration related to sex, age class, or seasons have been widely studied, but the effect of other factors such as climate is less known. In this study, we examine how carotenoid-based plumage coloration and sexual dichromatism of the Hawai‘i ‘Amakihi

Avian malaria, transmitted by Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes in the Hawaiian Islands, has been a primary contributor to population range limitations, declines, and extinctions for many endemic Hawaiian honeycreepers. Avian malaria is strongly influenced by climate; therefore, predicted future changes are expected to expand transmission into higher elevations and intensify and lengthen...

Throughout the main Hawaiian Islands, introduced mosquito-borne disease has had, and continues to have, a profound impact on the distributions and abundance of native Hawaiian forest birds. Populations of remaining native forest birds are largely restricted to high elevation forests where mean temperatures are marginal for vector and parasite development and limited availability of...

Incompatible insect techniques are potential methods for controlling Culex quinquefasciatus and avian disease transmission in Hawai‘i without the use of pesticides or genetically modified organisms. The approach is based on naturally occurring sperm-egg incompatibilities within the Culex pipiens complex that are controlled by different strains of the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia...

The indigenous forest birds of American Samoa are increasingly threatened by changing patterns of rainfall and temperature that are associated with climate change as well as environmental stressors associated with agricultural and urban development, invasive species, and new introductions of avian diseases and disease vectors. Long term changes in their distribution, diversity, and...

While avian disease has been well-studied in windward forests of Hawai‘i Island, there have been few studies in leeward Ka‘u. We surveyed four altitudinal sites ranging from 1,200 to 2,200 m asl in the Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park (Kahuku) and three altitudinal sites ranging from 1,200 to 1,500 m asl in the Ka‘u Forest Reserve (Ka‘u) for the prevalence of avian disease...