Feeding ecology drives lead exposure of facultative and obligate avian scavengers in the eastern United States

Vincent A. Slabe; James T. Anderson; Jeff L Cooper; Tricia A. Miller; Bracken Brown; Anna Wrona; Patricia Ortiz; John Buchweitz; David McRuer; Ernesto Dominguez-Villegas; Shannon Behmke; Todd E. Katzner

doi:10.1002/etc.4680

USGS · 70216658

Feeding ecology drives lead exposure of facultative and obligate avian scavengers in the eastern United States

Vincent A. Slabe·James T. Anderson·Jeff L Cooper·Tricia A. Miller·Bracken Brown·Anna Wrona·Patricia Ortiz·John Buchweitz·David McRuer·Ernesto Dominguez-Villegas·Shannon Behmke·Todd E. Katzner

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Abstract

Lead poisoning of scavenging birds is a global issue. However, the drivers of lead exposure of avian scavengers have been understood from the perspective of individual species, not cross‐taxa assemblages. We analyzed blood ( n = 285) and liver ( n = 226) lead concentrations of 5 facultative (American crows [ Corvus brachyrhynchos ], bald eagles [ Haliaeetus leucocephalus ], golden eagles [ Aquila chrysaetos ], red‐shouldered hawks [ Buteo lineatus ], and red‐tailed hawks [ Buteo jamaicensis ]) and 2 obligate (black vultures [ Coragyps atratus ] and turkey vultures [ Cathartes aura ] avian scavenger species to identify lead exposure patterns. Species and age were significant ( α < 0.05) predictors of blood lead exposure of facultative scavengers; species, but not age, was a significant predictor of their liver lead exposure. We detected temporal variations in lead concentrations of facultative scavengers (blood: median = 4.41 µg/dL in spring and summer vs 13.08 µg/dL in autumn and winter; p = <0.001; liver: 0.32 ppm in spring and summer vs median = 4.25 ppm in autumn and winter; p = <0.001). At the species level, we detected between‐period differences in blood lead concentrations of bald eagles ( p = 0.01) and red‐shouldered hawks during the winter ( p = 0.001). During summer, obligate scavengers had higher liver lead concentrations than did facultative scavengers (median = 1.76 ppm vs 0.22 ppm; p = <0.001). These data suggest that the feeding ecology of avian scavengers is a determinant of the degree to which they are lead exposed, and they highlight the importance of dietary and behavioral variation in determining lead exposure.

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Source-reported bounding extent: 30.41078179084589° to 45.02695045318546° latitude; -90.17578124999999° to -71.630859375° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Vincent A. Slabe, James T. Anderson, Jeff L Cooper, Tricia A. Miller, Bracken Brown, Anna Wrona, Patricia Ortiz, John Buchweitz, David McRuer, Ernesto Dominguez-Villegas, Shannon Behmke, Todd E. Katzner. 2020-02-05. Feeding ecology drives lead exposure of facultative and obligate avian scavengers in the eastern United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.4680

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