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Occurrence and Implications of a Novel Cyanotoxin Responsible for the Death of Bald Eagles in the Southeastern, US
Citation:
Henderson, W. Occurrence and Implications of a Novel Cyanotoxin Responsible for the Death of Bald Eagles in the Southeastern, US. Annual Banquet for the Northeast Georgia Section of the American Chemical Society, Athens, GA, January 26, 2024.
Impact/Purpose:
This talk will focus on the original epidemiological evidence of the toxin’s role in the previously unexplained mass bald eagle deaths, the international collaboration that led to the toxin’s identification, as well as current efforts aimed at elucidating the human and environmental impacts of the toxin’s present in regional water bodies.
Description:
A novel cyanotoxin implicated in the deaths of around one hundred bald eagles and hundreds of coots across the Southeastern, US has recently been discovered. Upon initial investigation, the pathophysiology of the infected animals included the development of large vacuolar lesions in their brain and the disease termed vacuolar myelinopathy (VM). The cyanobacteria that produce the toxin grow on the leaves of an invasive hydrilla species commonly found in Southeastern reservoirs. It is hypothesized that bald eagles were exposed to the toxin by ingesting contaminated fish and/or water fowl. Interestingly, the toxin, now named Aetokthonos hydrillicola – or ‘the poison that kills the eagle’ – can also result in neurological disorders in other organisms as well, including fish, amphibians, and reptiles.