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Assessing multi-tissue lead burdens in free-flying obligate scavengers in eastern North America

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Abstract

Avian scavengers are regularly exposed to anthropogenic lead. Although many studies evaluate lead concentrations of either blood or tissues of lead-poisoned birds, there is comparatively less research on lead burdens of free-flying, apparently healthy individuals and populations. Here, we address this lack of information by assessing lead levels of multiple tissues (femur, liver, kidney, breast muscle, thigh muscle) in free-flying black vultures (n = 98) and turkey vultures (n = 10) collected outside the hunting season. We found only one individual had a soft tissue lead concentration indicative of acute exposure (6.17 mg/kg wet weight in the liver), while the other 107 vultures showed consistent low-level lead exposure throughout the soft tissues. All vultures, however, had femur lead concentrations indicative of chronic lead exposure (black vultures \( \overline{x}= \)31.80 ± 20.42 mg/kg (±SD); turkey vultures 23.21 ± 18.77 mg/kg). Lead levels were similar in all tissues in both vulture species (in each case, p > 0.05) and were generally highest in the femur, intermediate in the kidney and liver, and lowest in the breast and thigh muscle. Despite the consistency of these patterns, there were few strong correlations between lead levels in different tissues within each species, and those correlations that did exist were not consistent between species. Because these vultures were free flying and apparently healthy, the organism-wide lead distributions and between-species trends we report here provide important insight into the sublethal lead burdens that black vultures and turkey vultures commonly carry. Furthermore, these data offer a framework to better interpret and contextualize lead exposure data collected from these and other species.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Virginia State Office of USDA Wildlife Services for graciously providing vulture carcasses. We thank J. Fallon, A. Duerr, G. Schmidt, and E. Katzner for assisting with necropsies and J. Fallon for providing helpful reviews of the manuscript. This publication was completed with funds in part provided by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries through a Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the West Virginia University—Peace Corps Master’s International Program. Authors’ contributions are as follows: S. B. and T. K. designed the study, collected and statistically analyzed data, and wrote the manuscript; P. M. assisted with study design and writing. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This is Scientific Article No. 3302 of the West Virginia Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, Morgantown.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Resources, West Virginia University, PO Box 6125, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    Shannon Behmke & Todd Katzner

  2. U.S. Geological Survey, WV Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    Patricia Mazik

  3. USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Morgantown, WV, 26287, USA

    Todd Katzner

  4. U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, 970 Lusk St, Boise, ID, 83706, USA

    Todd Katzner

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  1. Shannon Behmke
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Correspondence to Shannon Behmke.

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Behmke, S., Mazik, P. & Katzner, T. Assessing multi-tissue lead burdens in free-flying obligate scavengers in eastern North America. Environ Monit Assess 189, 139 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5855-0

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