we were navigating the beagle channel, on our way to omora ethnobotanical park, located 3 km west of puerto williams, the capital of the chilean antarctic province.

as the boat was moving and crossing the cold subantarctic waters, the landscape and glacial peaks made me realize that holding a bird in the hand for a single moment is a powerful reminder of the vulnerability of wildlife and the responsibility of researchers.

birds are commonly infected by blood parasites transmitted by various species of mosquitoes, flies, and midges. in hawai‘i, the introduction of blood parasites in native birds was found to decrease the bird population and cause the extinction of endemic hawaiian honeycreepers.

previous studies in chile have documented blood parasites in several species. juan rivero de aguilar, ph.d., an associate researcher at the cape horn international center for global change studies and biocultural conservation, took me on board on one of his field expeditions to understand and know more about these blood parasite infections in this subantarctic region of the world.

birds in the wild may often appear perfectly healthy; however, blood parasites may be circulating within them without any obvious symptoms. collecting a small blood sample from birds allows researchers to understand the health and the effect that these blood parasites can have on bird populations and the ecosystem.

so i would like to ask: how many hidden threats to wildlife remain invisible to the human eye in a single moment?