Publicação
Retrospective study of blood lead poisoning in Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in Virginia, United States of America, from 2017 to 2021
| Resumo: | Due to its trophic position on the food chain and opportunistic feeding behavior, the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is prone to bioaccumulate contaminants present in the environment and food sources. Hence, monitoring this species can provide valuable information about the ecosystems it inhabits, as well as other wildlife and humans. Although measures have been taken to reduce lead exposure, lead poisoning is still a current cause of mortality and morbidity to wildlife. In 2,980 Bald Eagles carcasses submitted for diagnosis between 1975 and 2013, the main cause of death was poisoning (25.6%), with lead intoxication accounting for 63.5% of this mortality rate. Further research can provide important insight into this issue and help identify the sources and pathways of lead exposure. With the aim assessing the incidence of blood lead poisoning and evaluating possible associations between blood lead concentrations and intrinsic factors on admission, a retrospective study was carried out. This study included 191 Bald Eagles admitted to the Wildlife Center of Virginia between 2017 and 2021 and evaluated the parameters: life stage, weight, body condition score, the month and year of admission, circumstance and county of rescue. In order to evaluate the associations between information at intake and blood lead concentrations, a Person’s chi-square test was applied, while in cases with expected frequencies < 0.05). Additionally, in agreement with previous studies, adults and admissions in January showed to have higher odds of having blood lead poisoning concentrations, whereas admission in June had lower odds of this outcome. In conclusion, lead poisoning remains a relevant threat with significant prevalence in the Bald Eagle population of Virginia. This study highlights the need for more mitigation measures and conservation efforts to decrease lead exposure and its availability to wildlife and the environment. Moreover, it is emphasized the One Health concept, as environmental contamination with lead is closely related to anthropogenic activities causing adverse effects on both wildlife and human health |
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| Autores principais: | Soares, Sofia Mascarenhas Neto de Melo |
| Assunto: | Haliaeetus leucocephalus Lead Poisoning Virginia United States of America Haliaeetus leucocephalus Chumbo Intoxicação Estados Unidos da América Virgínia |
| Ano: | 2023 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa |
| Resumo: | Due to its trophic position on the food chain and opportunistic feeding behavior, the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is prone to bioaccumulate contaminants present in the environment and food sources. Hence, monitoring this species can provide valuable information about the ecosystems it inhabits, as well as other wildlife and humans. Although measures have been taken to reduce lead exposure, lead poisoning is still a current cause of mortality and morbidity to wildlife. In 2,980 Bald Eagles carcasses submitted for diagnosis between 1975 and 2013, the main cause of death was poisoning (25.6%), with lead intoxication accounting for 63.5% of this mortality rate. Further research can provide important insight into this issue and help identify the sources and pathways of lead exposure. With the aim assessing the incidence of blood lead poisoning and evaluating possible associations between blood lead concentrations and intrinsic factors on admission, a retrospective study was carried out. This study included 191 Bald Eagles admitted to the Wildlife Center of Virginia between 2017 and 2021 and evaluated the parameters: life stage, weight, body condition score, the month and year of admission, circumstance and county of rescue. In order to evaluate the associations between information at intake and blood lead concentrations, a Person’s chi-square test was applied, while in cases with expected frequencies < 0.05). Additionally, in agreement with previous studies, adults and admissions in January showed to have higher odds of having blood lead poisoning concentrations, whereas admission in June had lower odds of this outcome. In conclusion, lead poisoning remains a relevant threat with significant prevalence in the Bald Eagle population of Virginia. This study highlights the need for more mitigation measures and conservation efforts to decrease lead exposure and its availability to wildlife and the environment. Moreover, it is emphasized the One Health concept, as environmental contamination with lead is closely related to anthropogenic activities causing adverse effects on both wildlife and human health |
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