Lead in the tissues of terrestrial raptors in southern Ontario, Canada, 1995–2001

Factors affecting trace element accumulation in livers of avian species from East Poland

“…A factor of 4.0 was used for liver tissue. Liver lead concentrations of ≥15 mg/kg dw were considered diagnostic of Pb poisoning (Martin et al, 2008). In the case of Cd, Burgat (1990) and Battaglia et al (2005) suggested that Cd levels ≥3 mg/kg dw in the liver might indicate increased environmental exposure and a concentration of >5 µg/g is a reasonable minimum value associated with significant alteration in metabolism (Fedynich et al, 2007).…”

“…Hooded crows, apart from ravens, obtain food by consuming carrion. The case of a lead concentration of 21.77 mg/kg dw found in a single hooded crow individual must be considered as diagnostic of Pb poisoning (Martin et al, 2008). Other corvids exploit carrion to a lesser degree; however, in areas with strong hunting pressure, bullets can be confused with stones essential for digesting food.…”

Lead poisoning and its in vivo biomarkers in Mallard and Coot from two hunting activity areas in Poland

“…The most common way of diagnosing the lead poisoning among waterfowl is measuring the concentration in various tissues of birds (De Francisco et al, 2003;Martin et al, 2008;Tsipoura et al, 2011). Due to the time consumption, costs and euthanasia requirements of the protocol, other methods are looked for.…”

Grit Size Preferences and Confirmation of Ingested Lead Pellets in Chukars (Alectoris Chukar)

“…The association in time and space between elevated Pb levels or Pb exposure rates in avian scavengers and big-game hunting has been observed in multiple species across diverse regions of the world: Bald and Golden eagles in the upper midwestern United States (Kramer and Redig 1997, Strom et al 2009, Cruz-Martinez et al 2012 Not all studies have found a significant relationship between Pb concentrations or Pb exposure rates and biggame hunting seasons (Martina et al 2008, Stauber et al 2010 and, even where significant correlations exist, many studies have found that Pb exposures are not strictly limited to big-game hunting seasons. Furthermore, Pb pellets and .22 bullets not associated with big-game hunting have been recovered in the digestive tracts of California Condors (Rideout et al 2012), Bald and Golden eagles (Cruz-Martinez et al 2012), and sea eagles (Helander et al 2009), and in the pellets of Egyptian Vultures (Neophron percnopterus; Doná-zar et al 2002).…”