The population of gannets, hard hit by avian flu, is getting better

The gannet population at the Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve in Newfoundland appears to be improving after the death of thousands of individuals.

In 2022, avian flu will kill more than 25,000 birds in North America and at least 6,600 in Newfoundland and Labrador, according to the biologist Rebecca Wisemanresearcher at the University Memorial.

Repfroduction success dropped drastically, from the usual average of 60% to just 17% during this period. A hard blow for their coloniesthis Rebecca Wiseman.

Last year, however, the success rate rebounded to 72%. This year, Rebecca Wiseman estimates that 60% to 70% of nests have eggs, which is a good sign.

His colleague Sydney Collins estimates that 11% of the gannet breeding population died during this avian flu outbreak.

She said she was pleasantly surprised by the jump in the reproduction rate given the warming of the water which has changed the time when many of the fish eggs on which the boobies feed have hatched.

This high rate of reproductive success is quite reassuring for the recovery of the population.

Researchers, she adds, are trying to test a hypothesis according to which birds that survive bird flu emerge with better abilities to reproduce.

A single glance reveals the devastation caused by bird flu in this reserve famous for its gannets.

We saw a large rock, all gannet white, it looked like snow. But now there are empty spaces where nests used to be foundexplain Noah Carreenwho researches seabirds and lives near the ecological reserve.

At this time, there are no signs of circulation of the virus causing avian flu in Cape Town. St. Mary’sthis Noah Carreen. However, carcasses of birds that have been found on nearby beaches must be analyzed, he says, to be sure.

With information from CBC