WIMANET: The Power of a Network in Wildlife Malaria Research

Alfonso Marzal; Kasun Bodawatta; Carolina R. F. Chagas; Nayden Chakarov; Mélanie Duc; Tamara Emmenegger; Martina Ferraguti; Luz García-Longoria; Rafael Gutiérrez-López; Ricardo J. Lopes; Josué Martínez-De La Puente; Swen Renner; Diego Santiago-Alarcón; Ravinder N. M. Sehgal; Daliborka Stanković; Jenny C. Dunn

doi:10.1111/1749-4877.12983

Integrative Zoology ›› 2026, Vol. 21 ›› Issue (1) :11 -16. DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12983

REVIEW

WIMANET: The Power of a Network in Wildlife Malaria Research

Author information +

¹. Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Zoology, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain

². Wildlife Research Group, National University of San Martin, Tarapoto, Peru

³. Section for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

⁴. State Scientific Research Institute Nature Research Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania

⁵. Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany

⁶. JICE, Joint Institute for Individualisation in a Changing Environment, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany

⁷. Museum Luzern, Department of Zoology, Lucerne, Switzerland

⁸. CSIC, Doñana Biological Station (EBD), Seville, Spain

⁹. CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain

¹⁰. CE3C, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Change & CHANGE, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

¹¹. National Center of Microbiology, Carlos III Health institute, Madrid Majadahonda, Spain

¹². CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Madrid, Spain

¹³. MHNC-UP, Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

¹⁴. Natural History Museum Vienna, Vienna, Austria

¹⁵. Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA

¹⁶. Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, USA

¹⁷. Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

¹⁸. School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, UK

J.C.Dunn@keele.ac.uk

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Abstract

The Wildlife Malaria Network (WIMANET) is an EU-COST-funded global network of researchers and stakeholders interested in wildlife malaria and related haemosporidian parasites. The network has six working groups covering a diverse range of core topics within wildlife malaria research, focusing on genetics and genomics, species identification, vectors, haematology, communities, and communication. Up to now, the network includes 229 members from 45 countries including Europe, America, Africa, and Asia, but this number is continually growing. This review outlines the aims and goals of WIMANET, providing a summary of activities and plans for each of the six working groups for the next years. The network is open to new members, and we provide details on how both new and existing members can get involved in the network and take part in activities. WIMANET provides a global platform for collaborative and innovative research, and we encourage all members of the wildlife malaria community (and beyond) to take advantage of the opportunities the network offers.

Keywords

capacity building / COST Action / global collaboration / research network / wildlife malaria and related haemosporidian parasites

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Alfonso Marzal, Kasun Bodawatta, Carolina R. F. Chagas, Nayden Chakarov, Mélanie Duc, Tamara Emmenegger, Martina Ferraguti, Luz García-Longoria, Rafael Gutiérrez-López, Ricardo J. Lopes, Josué Martínez-De La Puente, Swen Renner, Diego Santiago-Alarcón, Ravinder N. M. Sehgal, Daliborka Stanković, Jenny C. Dunn. WIMANET: The Power of a Network in Wildlife Malaria Research. Integrative Zoology, 2026, 21(1): 11-16 DOI:10.1111/1749-4877.12983

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2025 The Author(s). Integrative Zoology published by International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.