The deaths of tens of thousands of flamingos at Lakes Bogoria and Nukuru in Kenya, home to the world's principal populations of the lesser flamingo, are being investigated by Geoff Codd in the school of life sciences and colleagues at the Leibniz Institute in Berlin.
High concentrations of blue-green algae toxins have been found in the lake water and the birds, including two potent liver toxins and a neurotoxin, the concentration of which would be sufficient to account for the death of the flamingos.
As the birds are phytoplankton-feeders and depend upon blue-green algal as a main or even sole, food source, the question of why the species is susceptible to blue-green algae poisoning, when it should be part of the birds' normal diet, is an issue that the Dundee team plan to research further.
By Jenny Marra, Press Officer 01382 344910 j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk