Feather & Fin: The Connection Between Bald Eagles, SRKWs, And Contaminants

Bald eagles are very abundant in the Salish Sea. They are important avian predators of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems. Eagles, along with other birds of prey, have a long and well-known history with contaminants, like DDT. When Canadian scientists wanted to know the sources and potential impacts of contaminants on endangered Southern Resident killer whales (SRKWs), they surprisingly turned to bald eagles for some answers. On this episode, Dr. John Elliott, a retired researcher with Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Robert Kesic, a wildlife biologist & toxicologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada and now PhD candidate, join us to talk about a recent study they did looking at PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) or flame retardants in bald eagles, and the connection to SRKWs.