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

About this episode

This episode explores the connection between bald eagles and contaminants affecting Southern Resident killer whales.

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...

People in this episode

Guest: Dr. John Elliott

Topics covered

• bald eagles
• contaminants
• Southern Resident killer whales
• ecosystems
• marine biology

Keywords

• bald eagles
• Southern Resident killer whales
• contaminants
• marine ecosystems
• DDT

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: TWM Education Department, Southern Resident killer whales

Books & works: DDT

Places: Salish Sea, Canada

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