In summer 2022, the UK’s seabird populations were hit extremely hard by HPAI, with tens of thousands of birds dying across the UK. Today’s guest blog by Jean Duggan, Policy Assistant for Avian Influenza, explains the latest and what it means for the RSPB’s Centre for Conservation Science’s programme of work.
Taking on the role of Policy Assistant – Avian Influenza has been a steep learning curve for me, but due to the unprecedented nature of the current outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the UK and worldwide, we are all still grappling with a lot of unknowns.
This strain of the virus (H5N1) has hit an array of previously unaffected species and it remained widespread all throughout summer 2022, something unheard-of in previous outbreaks. It is crucial that we increase knowledge and understanding of how this virus operates and what impact it is having on different species and populations of birds. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation, and we need increased research funding and effort across the UK, as well as internationally. At the RSPB, our Conservation Science team have been hard at work contributing to the generation of knowledge on this pressing issue.
Next steps
Seabirds are long-lived, take several years to reach breeding age and rear only one or two chicks per year, so it is particularly difficult for them to recover from such an impact. In response to the gravity of this situation, we are undertaking additional survey work to quantify the impacts of the 2022 HPAI outbreak on the numbers of UK seabirds returning to breed in 2023.
We will be doing repeat counts for selected species and colonies for which we have pre-HPAI data, which will allow us to address key evidence gaps. It may also result in changes to the Conservation Status of some species, which could influence nature conservation actions, and it will produce updated population counts for use when assessing the impacts of offshore windfarm developments.
Surveying seabirds on the Outer Hebrides © Aidan McCormick (rspb-images.com)
As well as seabirds, we are also funding research on the impact of HPAI on the Svalbard breeding population of Barnacle Geese, which overwinters on the Solway Firth and was severely hit in winter 2021/22 when at least 13,200 birds perished.
The study we have commissioned is looking at the age, sex and breeding site origin of Barnacle Geese dying of and surviving HPAI during that winter on the Solway. This study is using a range of methods, including collating data on dead colour-ringed birds and sightings of live birds. It will also compare age ratios of live birds in flocks before and during the outbreak with age ratios discerned from photo samples of dead birds taken at three main sites (including RSPB Mersehead).
Barnacle geese in flight © James Duncan (rspb-images.com)
On an international level, we are undertaking a global literature review to gather and summarise data describing the long-to-medium term population-level impacts of HPAI on wild birds. This project is exploring whether outbreaks tend to be short-lived, with populations bouncing back quickly, or whether they tend to persist and have longer term impacts. It will also look at how patterns differ between species.
Aside from gaining a better understanding of how the virus has impacted certain populations, we also need increased virological knowledge of H5N1. To this end, our Conservation Science team are involved in collecting blood samples from gannets to study immunology and recovery, and a paper on this work is currently underway.
Staff will also be trained to collect blood samples and swabs from live birds being caught for ringing or tracking studies to test for HPAI immunity and infection, to increase the amount of testing possible and to facilitate testing at hard-to-access sites.
To bring together all of our existing and planned projects in this area, we will be increasing our staff capacity for scientific work on HPAI in the coming months. This will help us further boost our knowledge and understanding of the virus and provide a solid evidence base for future decisions at an operational level, as well as informing our efforts to push governments across the UK to improve their response to this crisis. It will also allow us and others to target the right conservation measures at the right populations.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the following organisations for generous support and/or collaboration: BTO; JNCC; NatureScot; Natural England; Natural Resources Wales; Ørsted; Forth and Tay Regional Advisory Group; Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Ltd; Seagreen Wind Energy Ltd; SSE Renewables; University of Edinburgh; University of Glasgow; Heriot-Watt University; Animal and Plant Health Agency; Scottish Seabird Centre; UKCEH.
Much of this hugely important work would not be possible without the support received through our Avian Flu Appeal and so a huge thank you to all those who contributed.
Although the risk of humans contracting avian flu is very low, we recommend that people avoid touching sick or dead wild birds. You can report dead wild birds on the Defra website.
Continue reading
Would you like to be kept up to date with our latest science news? Email with the heading 'enewsletter' to be added to our quarterly enewsletter.
Want our blogs emailed to you automatically? Click the cog in the top right of this page and select 'turn blog notifications on' (if you have an RSPB blog account) or 'subscribe by email'.