Here is a few moments worth of looking or articles on lead and wildlife other than waterfowl. There are gazillions more such articles out there.
These are titles and abstracts for anyone interested in actually reading them.
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Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Article: pp. 4–20 | Full Text | PDF (178K)
AN ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF LEAD SHOT EXPOSURE IN NON-WATERFOWL AVIAN SPECIES: UPLAND GAME BIRDS AND RAPTORS
Ronald J. Kendall1, Thomas E. Lacher Jr.2, Christine Bunck3, Bernard Daniel4, Crystal Driver5, Christian E. Grue6, Frederick Leighton7, William Stansley8, Philip G. Watanabe9, and Molly Whitworth10
1. The Institute of Wildlife and Environmental Toxicology (TIWET), P.O. Box 709, One TIWET Drive, Clemson University, Pendleton, South Carolina 29670 USA, 2. Archbold Tropical Research Center, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634-1019 USA, 3. Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends Program, National Biological Service, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20240 USA, 4. Ecological Monitoring Research Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268 USA, 5. Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Environmental Sciences (MS K4-12), Box 999, Richland, Washington 99352 USA, 6. National Biological Service, Washington Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, School of Fisheries, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98107 USA, 7. Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Center, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4, Canada, 8. New Jersey Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife, Office of Fish and Wildlife Health and Forensics, P.O. Box 394, Lebanon, New Jersey 08833, 9. The Dow Chemical Company, Health and Environmental Sciences, 1803 Building, Midland, Michigan 48674 USA, 10. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Room 415, West Tower, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20460 USA
There is increasing concern that birds in terrestrial ecosystems may be exposed to spent lead shot. Evidence exists that upland birds, particularly mourning doves (Zenaida macroura), ingest spent lead shot and that raptors ingest lead shot by consuming wounded game. Mortality, neurological dysfunction, immune suppression, and reproductive impairment are documented effects of exposure to lead in birds. An ecological risk assessment on the impact of lead shot exposure in upland birds was conducted and is presented in the context of the new United States Environmental Protection Agency's Ecological Risk Assessment Paradigm. A considerable amount of spent lead shot is released into the environment each year from shooting and hunting. Doves collected from fields that are cultivated to attract mourning doves for hunting activities show evidence of ingestion of spent lead shot. Because lead can cause both acute and chronic toxicity if ingested by birds, and because there is evidence of widespread deposition of lead shot in terrestrial ecosystems, concern for impacts on upland game birds and raptors seems warranted. Although this ecological risk assessment does not clearly define a significant risk of lead shot exposure to upland game birds, this issue merits continued scrutiny to protect our upland game bird and raptor resources.
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And another:
Lead Poisoning in Upland-foraging Birds of Prey in Canada -
Ecotoxicology, 2003
A.J. Clark1 and A.M. Scheuhammer1
(1) Canadian Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Research Centre, Ottowa, ON, Canada, K1A 0H3
Abstract We examined the degree of lead exposure, based on tissue-lead concentrations, in 184 raptors of 16 species found dead across Canada. The most prevalent species available for examination were Red-tailed hawks, Great horned owls, and Golden eagles (n=131). The majority of individuals examined had very low lead accumulation, however 3–4% of total mortality in these 3 most commonly encountered species was attributed to lead poisoning. In addition, 1 of 9 Bald Eagles found dead far from aquatic environments was lead poisoned; and a single Turkey Vulture had a highly elevated bone-lead concentration (58 µg/g dry weight). Evidence from our study, along with other published research, indicates that upland-foraging birds of prey and scavengers that typically include game birds and mammals in their diets, are at risk for lead poisoning from the ingestion of lead projectiles from ammunition used in upland hunting. The use of non-lead ammunition for hunting upland game would effectively remove the only serious source of high lead exposure and lead poisoning for upland-foraging raptors.
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And another - this one you will all like:
Northern Bobwhite and Lead Shot Deposition in an Upland Habitat
in Earth and Environmental Science
M. K. Keel, W. R. Davidson, G. L. Doster, L. A. Lewis
1Department of Veterinary Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
2Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
3D. B. Warnell School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
Abstract
We estimated total lead shotshell pellets expended, resultant pellet availability near soil surface, and the frequency of pellet ingestion by northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) attributable to nearly a quarter century of bobwhite hunting on a 202-ha upland habitat at Tall Timbers Research Station, Leon County, Florida. A total of 7,776 shots were fired, resulting in the expenditure of approximately 4.5 million pellets (~ 22,519/ha). Sixteen of 235 (6.8%) soil samples collected in 1989 and 1992 contained one or two pellets. Soil samples indicated that approximately 7,800 pellets/ha (about 35% of the projected 24-year deposition) were within 2.54 cm of the soil surface. Pellet ingestion by bobwhites was evaluated by examining 241 gizzards collected from 1989-92. Three bobwhites (1.3%) had ingested pellets (x¥ = 1.3 pellets). No instances of suspected lead poisoning were noted in bobwhites over the 24-year period. Sport hunting of wild bobwhite populations on upland habitats appears to produce a low potential for lead poisoning compared to lead deposition in association with waterfowl and dove hunting.
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and one you won't
Elevated lead concentrations in edible portions of game birds harvested with lead shot
A. M. Scheuhammera, *, J. A. Perraulta, E. Routhiera, B. M. Braunea and G. D. Campbellb
a Canadian Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Research Centre, 100 Gamelin Boulevard, Hull, Quebec, Canada K1A 0H3
b Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Received 3 December 1997; accepted 7 April 1998. Available online 21 December 1998.
Abstract
Here, we report the results of a study to determine the frequency of elevated Pb concentrations in pectoral muscle tissue of hunter-killed game birds (mostly waterfowl), and to address the cause of occasionally observed high Pb values. Of 827 right pectoral muscle pools (1–12 individuals per pool), 92 had Pb concentrations greater than 0.5 μg/g wet weight, (2 μg/g dry weight). The average Pb concentration for these 92 pools was 12±38 μg/g wet weight (40±125 μg/g dry wt). When tissue from individuals making up some of these ‘high Pb' pools were analysed, 40 of 190 individual birds had Pb concentrations >5 μg/g dry weight in their right pectoral muscles. All tissue samples were examined visually prior to analysis, and none contained detectable Pb pellets. The average concentration of Pb in right pectoral muscle tissue of individual birds from high Pb pools with elevated muscle-Pb concentrations was 211±634 μg/g (n=40) and ranged from 5.5 to 3910 μg/g (dry wt). Large differences in Pb concentrations between right and left pectoral muscle of the same individuals, were often noted. The magnitude of the differences in Pb concentrations between left and right pectoral muscles of the same individual, and also between different samples taken from the same tissue, preclude both analytical error and biologically incorporated Pb as the cause of the elevated Pb concentrations in these animals. Radiography confirmed the presence of numerous small (<1 mm diameter) metallic fragments in pectoral muscle samples from these birds. Embedded fragments of metallic Pb from shot disintegration are a potential source of dietary Pb exposure for predators, and for human consumers of wild game, especially in communities that rely on subsistence hunting and for whom hunter-killed wild game represents a major food source. This risk can be eliminated by the use of non-toxic shot for hunting.
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