We don’t know how well threatened species fight off bird flu – but we need to

Lethal bird flu is now spreading in Australia. This is bad news for many native species. New federal government analysis suggests close to one in five Australian bird and mammal species is at high, very high or extreme risk. But this risk assessment omits something vital – how genetically well-equipped the species is to fight the virus. While species such as black swans are likely to be very hard-hit, others such as wild ducks are expected to be less affected. One reason for this is…