Lead Exposure of Mainland Australia’s Top Avian Predator

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bennett E ; Berger L ; Hampton JO ; Hufschmid J ; Lohr MT ; McGinnis K ; Melville J ; Nzabanita D ; Pay JM ; Specht AJ
• Description:
  Lead (Pb) toxicity, through ingestion of lead ammunition in carcasses, is a threat to scavenging birds worldwide, but has received little attention in Australia. We analyzed lead exposure in the wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax), the largest raptor species found in mainland Australia and a facultative scavenger. Eagle carcasses were collected opportunistically throughout south-eastern mainland Australia between 1996 and 2022. Lead concentrations were measured in bone samples from 62 animals via portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Lead was detected (concentration >1 ppm) in 84% (n = 52) of the bone samples. The mean lead concentration of birds in which lead was detected was 9.10 ppm (+/-SE 1.66). Bone lead concentrations were elevated (10-20 ppm) in 12.9% of samples, and severe (>20 ppm) in 4.8% of samples. These proportions are moderately higher than equivalent data for the same species from the island of Tasmania, and are comparable to data from threatened eagle species from other continents. Lead exposure at these levels is likely to have negative impacts on wedge-tailed eagles at the level of the individual and perhaps at a population level. Our results suggest that studies of lead exposure in other Australian avian scavenger species are warranted. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Environmental Pollution Lead Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Australia Author Keywords: Ammunition Avian Biomonitoring Environmental Monitoring Environmental Pollution Raptors Scavengers X-ray Fluorescence Analysis
• ISSN:
  0269-7491
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Indiana ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  332
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069892
• Citation:
  Environ Pollut 2023 Sep; 332:122004
• Contact Point Address:
  Jordan O. Hampton, Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia
• Email:
  jordan.hampton@unimelb.edu.au
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  Purdue University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20210901
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Pollution
• End Date:
  20220731
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:98e6dd8b45fd1448c9ace19e2c74dd04b54d8319bfcb095eee923dfb07619505da3da1a97e67e610ca6bd6154778ebc127bd04636db65bbcd89442f5afb14199
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208228/cdc_208228_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.54 MB ]