Lead poisoning in the globally threatened marbled teal and white-headed duck in Spain.
Marbled teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris) and white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala) are the two European ducks threatened with global extinction. We investigated lead (Pb) poisoning in stifftails (Oxyura spp., n = 83) and marbled teal (n = 80) shot or found dead or moribund in Spanish wetlands via gizzard examination and liver, bone, and blood Pb analysis. Ingested Pb shot was present in 32% of shot stifftails and 70 and 43% of dead or moribund stifftails and marbled teal, respectively. Lead-shot ingestion was more frequent in Valencia (eastern Spain), where Pb-shot densities were higher and grit scarcer. Selection of larger grit similar in size to Pb shot may explain the higher rate of Pb-shot ingestion observed in stifftails. Ingested shot was found more frequently in juvenile stifftails than in adults. Lead bone concentrations were higher in ducklings < 9 d old than in fully grown teal and were also higher in adult than in juvenile teal. Our results show the need for a ban of Pb shot for waterfowl hunting in Spain and the cleanup of spent shot at major wetlands.
Mateo
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R
Laboratory of Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain. rafael.mateo@uab.es
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Jeske
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D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000737:chemistry; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004032:Diet; D004372:Ducks; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D007854:Lead / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013030:Spain
D007854:Lead