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Source: https://www.nationalworld.com/news/e...-study-4515945
Bird flu: Disease emerges as 'one of the biggest conservation threats' facing UK seabirds - RSPB study finds
Bird flu is directly causing numbers to plummet in three already vulnerable seabird species, and is likely impacting many more
By Amber Allott
Published 13th Feb 2024, 11:38 GMT
Chunky orange-capped gannets, sooty-hued great skua, and svelte roseate terns are some of the species we risk losing from British seas and skies, as a bird flu pandemic continues to sweep through colonies.
A new report by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has, for the first time, quantified the effects of recent Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza - sometimes known as bird flu - outbreaks on the UK’s seabirds populations. Of the 13 species included in the study, nine were experiencing population declines, with three of these directly attributable to the virus - and a further two being most likely attributable to the disease.
Many seabirds which roost on the British Isles are already in trouble. The RSPB says they face a wide variety of threats, including unsustainable fishing practices threatening their food sources, being killed by invasive, non-native mammals, and climate change and the warming seas it causes. But with bird flu wiping out tens of thousands of birds since it became established in 2022, the charity says it is now emerging as "one of the biggest immediate conservation threats faced by multiple seabirds".
The study, led by the RSPB in collaboration with other conservation organisations like the British Trust for Ornithology, painted a highly concerning picture of widespread and extensive declines. Nine of the 13 species included in the report fell in numbers by more than 10% since previous surveys, made between 2015 and 2021. For gannets, great skua and roseate terns, the declines were able to be largely attributed to bird flu, while it was determined to be the likely cause for sandwich and common tern numbers falling....
Bird flu: Disease emerges as 'one of the biggest conservation threats' facing UK seabirds - RSPB study finds
Bird flu is directly causing numbers to plummet in three already vulnerable seabird species, and is likely impacting many more
By Amber Allott
Published 13th Feb 2024, 11:38 GMT
Chunky orange-capped gannets, sooty-hued great skua, and svelte roseate terns are some of the species we risk losing from British seas and skies, as a bird flu pandemic continues to sweep through colonies.
A new report by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has, for the first time, quantified the effects of recent Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza - sometimes known as bird flu - outbreaks on the UK’s seabirds populations. Of the 13 species included in the study, nine were experiencing population declines, with three of these directly attributable to the virus - and a further two being most likely attributable to the disease.
Many seabirds which roost on the British Isles are already in trouble. The RSPB says they face a wide variety of threats, including unsustainable fishing practices threatening their food sources, being killed by invasive, non-native mammals, and climate change and the warming seas it causes. But with bird flu wiping out tens of thousands of birds since it became established in 2022, the charity says it is now emerging as "one of the biggest immediate conservation threats faced by multiple seabirds".
The study, led by the RSPB in collaboration with other conservation organisations like the British Trust for Ornithology, painted a highly concerning picture of widespread and extensive declines. Nine of the 13 species included in the report fell in numbers by more than 10% since previous surveys, made between 2015 and 2021. For gannets, great skua and roseate terns, the declines were able to be largely attributed to bird flu, while it was determined to be the likely cause for sandwich and common tern numbers falling....