Few bird are quite as internationally recognisable as thebald eagle(Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) . Often discussed as a conservation success story after DDT ( dichloro - diphenyl - trichloroethane ) pesticide poisoning nearly wipe out the US population , the illustrious birds have bounce back and were downgraded from endangered to jeopardise in 1995 .

However , even the national bird of theUnited States of Americais still vulnerable to threat . A late study has shown a dramatic decrease in breeding achiever and high-pitched levels of bald eagle fatality rate as a result of highly morbific clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 grippe A virus ( HP IAV ) .

“ Even just one year of going of productivity like we ’ve document regionally is very concerning and could have issue for decades to make out if representative of wide regions , ” said Nicole Nemeth , lead generator of the study and an associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine in astatement in UGA Today .

Gs / Gd H5N1 IAV was introduced to the east of North America from Europe in December 2021 , and since then , the computer virus has been observed in large constituent of North America . septic groups include waterfowl , bird of prey , and scavenging skirt . Bald eagles survive across North America , mostly in areas along the Atlantic coast but also in place such as the Great Lakes , along the Rocky Mountains , and the Pacific Northwest .

denuded eagles are think to have acquired the computer virus through depredation on waterfowl . Since January 2022 , 136 individuals have been confirmed to have die from the virus across 24 US states . In Florida , Georgia , and South Carolina , the irruption happened at the same time as the bald bird of Jove nesting season . In four cases , grownup and young eagle were observed exhibiting signs of the disease before being found dead near nests , while other bird of Jove fall from their own nest . At two nest sites , one or both parents never returned to the nest site and were later found to have died from avian influenza .

“ We had reports from masses who faithfully monitor eagle nest year after year with these heartbreaking story of an grownup eagle feel dead below their nest . Within a few days , often its mate and the wench were also find dead below the nest . It is reset the computer virus is causing nest loser , ” said Nemeth , who is part of the UGA - based Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study ( SCWDS ) .

In Georgia , a survey found a 47 per centum nest success pace for bald eagles – 30 percent lower than the average for that region . In Camden and Glynn counties , the nesting winner rate was down by 43 and 62 percent . Further inland , the nesting achiever rate was more consistent with former days , suggesting the ingestion of waterfowl as the primary infection method acting for avian influenza .

The squad suggest that bald bird of Jove upbringing achiever was most impacted in areas where lesser scaup(Aythya affinis)were also watch over suffering from gamy levels of HP IAV demise . Lesser scaup duck are a prey mintage for bald eagles – and in the fosterage season , a metre when the eagles need to scrounge more solid food and have a tendency to scavenge easy carcass , contributed to the transmission of HP IAV from the scaup to the eagles .

The team suggest that more research is needed to continue to monitor the impact on bald eagle population .

The theme is issue inScientific Reports .