New insight into avian malaria vectors in New Zealand.

Background: Mosquitoes (Culicidae) are vectors for most malaria parasites of the Plasmodium species and are required for Plasmodium spp. to complete their life cycle. Despite having 16 species of mosquitoes and the detection of many Plasmodium species in birds, little is known about the role of different mosquito species in the avian malaria life cycle in New Zealand.

Monitoring of alien mosquitoes in Western Austria (Tyrol, Austria, 2018).

Mosquitoes are of major importance to human and animal health due to their ability to transmit various pathogens. In Europe the role of mosquitoes in public health has increased with the introduction of alien Aedes mosquitoes such as the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus; the Asian bush mosquito, Ae. japonicus; and Ae.

Toxocara vitulorum infection in a yak (Bos mutus grunniens) calf from Tyrol (Austria).

The domestic yak Bos mutus grunniens is an important livestock animal in parts of Asia, especially of the Himalayan region, where people rely on it for meat, wool, milk and labour. In its countries of origin, the yak is commonly infected with the ascarid Toxocara vitulorum. This parasite mainly infects cattle (Bos taurus) and domestic buffalo (Bubalus bubalus) and is most commonly found in sub-tropical regions, but has been occasionally reported in more temperate climates, including several Central European countries.

Unnoticed arrival of two dipteran species in Austria: the synanthropic moth fly Clogmia albipunctata (Williston, 1893) and the parasitic bird louse fly Ornithoica turdi (Olivier in Latreille, 1811).

In the framework of a mosquito-monitoring program conducted from 2014 to 2018, non-culicid dipteran bycatch was identified to species-level with a focus on Diptera of medical and veterinary importance as part of a biodiversity initiative and barcoding project ("Austrian Barcode of Life"). Two species hitherto not known from Austria, the regularly sampled synanthropic moth fly Clogmia albipunctata (Psychodidae) and a single specimen of the louse fly Ornithoica turdi (Hippoboscidae), were collected in Vienna and Lower Austria. We confirmed identification results using a barcoding approach and provide the first reference sequence for O.

Presence and diversity of mixed avian spp. infections in introduced birds whose distribution overlapped with threatened New Zealand endemic birds.

To determine the presence of infection and co-infection of lineages in introduced birds at translocation sites for the North Island saddleback (), to investigate their role as spp. reservoirs. Blood samples were collected from introduced bird species, with a special focus on blackbirds () and song thrushes (), at six locations in the North Island of New Zealand that were the origin, or translocation sites, for North Island saddleback.