Lead concentrations in blood from incubating common eiders (Somateria mollissima) in the Baltic Sea

• Published in: Environment International
• Main Authors: Lam, Su Shiung, McPartland, Molly, Noori, Brenley, Garbus, Svend-Erik, Lierhagen, Syverin, Lyngs, Peter, Dietz, Rune, Therkildsen, Ole Roland, Christensen, Thomas Kjær, Tjørnløv, Rune Skjold, Kanstrup, Niels, Fox, Anthony D., Sørensen, Iben Hove, Arzel, Céline, Krøkje, Åse, Sonne, Christian
• Other Authors: Department of Forest Sciences, Wetland Ecology Group
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Scientific Publ. Co 2020
• Subjects: 1172 Environmental sciences; Avian; Emaciation; Food depletion; Parasite infection; Starvation; Waterfowl; MORTALITY EVENT; AMMUNITION; TRACE-ELEMENTS; PB; SPECTACLED EIDERS; EXPOSURE; BIRDS; Somateria mollissima
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10138/317225

Here we investigate if lead may be a contributing factor to the observed population decline in a Baltic colony of incubating eiders (Somateria mollissima). Body mass and blood samples were obtained from 50 incubating female eiders at the Baltic breeding colony on Christiansø during spring 2017 (n = 27) and 2018 (n = 23). All the females were sampled twice during early (day 4) and late (day 24) incubation. The full blood was analysed for lead to investigate if the concentrations exceeded toxic thresholds or changed over the incubation period due to remobilisation from bones and liver tissue. Body mass, hatch date and number of chicks were also analysed with respect to lead concentrations. The body mass (mean ± SD g) increased significantly in the order: day 24 in 2018 (1561 ± 154 g) Peer reviewed