The ENST department will be starting a weekly seminar series this Wednesday February 12 at 3:00pm in 0408 ANSC.
The speaker this week is former ENST chair Dr. Bill Bowerman. Dr. Bowerman’s seminar is titled “Chasing a Dragon: Bird Flu, Eagle Impacts, One Health, and the Threat of a New Pandemic“. This presentation will highlight Dr. Bowerman’s global journey as the inaugural recipient of the Phi Kappa Phi Mary Todd Sabbatical Award. Please see the abstract below If you are unable to join us in person (0408 ANSC) you will be able to connect via Zoom at the following link: https://umd.zoom.us/j/93448270124 with password ENST_! Note that we have a password now for the Zoom link and it ends with ! .
CHASING A DRAGON: BIRD FLU, EAGLE IMPACTS, ONE HEALTH, AND THE THREAT OF A NEW PANDEMIC
Professor William Bowerman, Department of Environmental Science and Technology, University of Maryland, 1426 Animal Sciences Building, College Park, Maryland 20742 USA
Breeding bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) have been monitored in Michigan since 1961 and is one of the longest studies of sea eagles in the world. Long-term studies are essential for understanding environmental perturbations including the impact of environmental pollutants, climate change, and zoonotic diseases. Since 2021, the H5 and H7 strains of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have negatively impacted bird populations globally. In the Laurentian Great Lakes, some regions experienced declines of nesting pairs of bald eagles up to 68% from HPAI. In Michigan, a weight of evidence approach to analyze a population-level additive mortality event to nesting bald eagles was utilized. Factors considered included disease occurrence, population measures (productivity, success, some degree of activity), density dependence, prey availability, weather, and environmental contaminants. Productivity declined from the healthy level of 1.0 pre-HPAI to 0.72 young per occupied nest in 2022. A 32-year (1986-2017) necropsy study was used to determine background primary cause of death (COD) for the population. A significant increase in disease as a COD from 7.1% to 41.7% was observed in 2022, with 89% testing positive for HPAI. While all age classes were impacted, 67% were adults. In comparing 2023 survey data to 2022 estimated population (since HPAI effects were observed during the 2022 breeding season), observed a 40 1.8% decline in breeding pairs from 1,085 to 651 (642-670). The healthy pre-HPAI population that included non-breeding adults (floaters) was also impacted based on the finding that 430 (408-452) breeding areas were still unoccupied in 2024. The long-term impact of this singular event on the recovery of this population is still being analyzed. This event demonstrates the value of long-term avian population studies to understanding environmental perturbations in a One Health context. Lessons learned from discussions with wildlife and public health officials in 14 countries on 5 continents related to HPAI will be shared.
Program Details: Seeking applicants graduating in 2025 or recent grads.
Application link: