Demographic implications of lead poisoning for eagles across North America

Vincent A Slabe^{1

2}, James T Anderson³, Brian A Millsap⁴, Jeffrey L Cooper⁵, Alan R Harmata⁶, Marco Restani⁷, Ross H Crandall⁸, Barbara Bodenstein⁹, Peter H Bloom¹⁰, Travis Booms¹¹, John Buchweitz¹², Renee Culver¹³, Kim Dickerson¹⁴, Robert Domenech¹⁵, Ernesto Dominguez-Villegas¹⁶, Daniel Driscoll¹⁷, Brian W Smith¹⁸, Michael J Lockhart¹⁹, David McRuer^{16

20}, Tricia A Miller²¹, Patricia A Ortiz²², Krysta Rogers²³, Matt Schwarz²⁴, Natalie Turley²⁵, Brian Woodbridge²⁶, Myra E Finkelstein²⁷, Christian A Triana²⁷, Christopher R DeSorbo²⁸, Todd E Katzner²²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.
² Conservation Science Global, Bozeman, MT, USA.
³ James C. Kennedy Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation Center, Clemson University, Georgetown, SC, USA.
⁴ Division of Migratory Bird Management, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA.
⁵ Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, Richmond, VA, USA.
⁶ Ecology Department, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA.
⁷ NorthWestern Energy, Butte, MT, USA.
⁸ Craighead Beringia South, Kelly, WY, USA.
⁹ US Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI, USA.
¹⁰ Bloom Research Inc., Santa Ana, CA, USA.
¹¹ Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fairbanks, AK, USA.
¹² Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
¹³ NextEra Energy Resources, Juno Beach, FL, USA.
¹⁴ US Fish & Wildlife Service, Cheyenne, WY, USA.
¹⁵ Raptor View Research Institute, Missoula, MT, USA.
¹⁶ Wildlife Center of Virginia, Waynesboro, VA, USA.
¹⁷ American Eagle Research Institute, Apache Junction, AZ, USA.
¹⁸ US Fish & Wildlife Service, Denver, CO, USA.
¹⁹ Wildlands Photography and Bio-consulting, Littleton, CO, USA.
²⁰ Parks Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.
²¹ Conservation Science Global, Cape May, NJ, USA.
²² US Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise, ID, USA.
²³ Wildlife Investigations Laboratory, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA.
²⁴ US Fish & Wildlife Service, Pierre, SD, USA.
²⁵ Idaho Power Company, Boise, ID, USA.
²⁶ US Fish & Wildlife Service, Yreka, CA, USA.
²⁷ Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
²⁸ Biodiversity Research Institute, Portland, ME, USA.

PMID: 35175813
DOI: 10.1126/science.abj3068

Demographic implications of lead poisoning for eagles across North America

Vincent A Slabe et al. Science. 2022.

. 2022 Feb 18;375(6582):779-782.

doi: 10.1126/science.abj3068. Epub 2022 Feb 17.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.
² Conservation Science Global, Bozeman, MT, USA.
³ James C. Kennedy Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation Center, Clemson University, Georgetown, SC, USA.
⁴ Division of Migratory Bird Management, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA.
⁵ Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, Richmond, VA, USA.
⁶ Ecology Department, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA.
⁷ NorthWestern Energy, Butte, MT, USA.
⁸ Craighead Beringia South, Kelly, WY, USA.
⁹ US Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI, USA.
¹⁰ Bloom Research Inc., Santa Ana, CA, USA.
¹¹ Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fairbanks, AK, USA.
¹² Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
¹³ NextEra Energy Resources, Juno Beach, FL, USA.
¹⁴ US Fish & Wildlife Service, Cheyenne, WY, USA.
¹⁵ Raptor View Research Institute, Missoula, MT, USA.
¹⁶ Wildlife Center of Virginia, Waynesboro, VA, USA.
¹⁷ American Eagle Research Institute, Apache Junction, AZ, USA.
¹⁸ US Fish & Wildlife Service, Denver, CO, USA.
¹⁹ Wildlands Photography and Bio-consulting, Littleton, CO, USA.
²⁰ Parks Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.
²¹ Conservation Science Global, Cape May, NJ, USA.
²² US Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise, ID, USA.
²³ Wildlife Investigations Laboratory, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA.
²⁴ US Fish & Wildlife Service, Pierre, SD, USA.
²⁵ Idaho Power Company, Boise, ID, USA.
²⁶ US Fish & Wildlife Service, Yreka, CA, USA.
²⁷ Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
²⁸ Biodiversity Research Institute, Portland, ME, USA.

PMID: 35175813
DOI: 10.1126/science.abj3068

Abstract

Lead poisoning occurs worldwide in populations of predatory birds, but exposure rates and population impacts are known only from regional studies. We evaluated the lead exposure of 1210 bald and golden eagles from 38 US states across North America, including 620 live eagles. We detected unexpectedly high frequencies of lead poisoning of eagles, both chronic (46 to 47% of bald and golden eagles, as measured in bone) and acute (27 to 33% of bald eagles and 7 to 35% of golden eagles, as measured in liver, blood, and feathers). Frequency of lead poisoning was influenced by age and, for bald eagles, by region and season. Continent-wide demographic modeling suggests that poisoning at this level suppresses population growth rates for bald eagles by 3.8% (95% confidence interval: 2.5%, 5.4%) and for golden eagles by 0.8% (0.7%, 0.9%). Lead poisoning is an underappreciated but important constraint on continent-wide populations of these iconic protected species.

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Demographic implications of lead poisoning for eagles across North America

Affiliations

Demographic implications of lead poisoning for eagles across North America

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

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LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources