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Toxic Exposure of Songbirds to Lead in the Southeast Missouri Lead Mining District

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Abstract

Mining and smelting in the Southeast Missouri Lead Mining District has caused widespread contamination of soils with lead (Pb) and other metals. Soils from three study sites sampled in the district contained from approximately 1,000–3,200 mg Pb/kg. Analyses of earthworms [33–4,600 mg Pb/kg dry weight (dw)] collected in the district showed likely high Pb exposure of songbirds preying on soil organisms. Mean tissue Pb concentrations in songbirds collected from the contaminated sites were greater (p < 0.05) than those in songbirds from reference sites by factors of 8 in blood, 13 in liver, and 23 in kidney. Ranges of Pb concentrations in livers (mg Pb/kg dw) were as follows: northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) = 0.11–3.0 (reference) and 1.3–30 (contaminated) and American robin (Turdus migratorius) = 0.43–8.5 (reference) and 7.6–72 (contaminated). Of 34 adult and juvenile songbirds collected from contaminated sites, 11 (32 %) had hepatic Pb concentrations that were consistent with adverse physiological effects, 3 (9 %) with systemic toxic effects, and 4 (12 %) with life-threatening toxic effects. Acid-fast renal intranuclear inclusion bodies, which are indicative of Pb poisoning, were detected in kidneys of two robins that had the greatest renal Pb concentrations (952 and 1,030 mg/kg dw). Mean activity of the enzyme delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) in red blood cells, a well-established bioindicator of Pb poisoning in birds, was decreased by 58–82 % in songbirds from the mining sites. We conclude that habitats within the mining district with soil Pb concentrations of ≥1,000 mg Pb/kg are contaminated to the extent that they are exposing ground-feeding songbirds to toxic concentrations of Pb.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Hillary Wakefield of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Trisha Crabill of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for their help in collecting birds. Roy Brazzle and Kate Healy of the USFWS shared their expertise in collecting blood from the songbirds. Robin E. Russell of the USGS National Wildlife Health Center provided statistical advice. Jesse Arms, Vanessa Melton-Silvey, and Michael J. Walther of the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center provided assistance with sample preparation and metal analyses. This research was funded by the United States Department of the Interior’s Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program and by the USGS. Use of trade, product, or firm names does not imply endorsement by the United States Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. United States Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, BARC-East, Building 308, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA

    W. Nelson Beyer, John B. French & Barnett A. Rattner

  2. United States Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, WI, 53711, USA

    J. Christian Franson & Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler

  3. Environmental Chemistry Branch, Columbia Environmental Research Center, 4200 New Haven Road, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA

    Thomas May

  4. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 505 Science Drive, Madison, WI, 53711, USA

    Sarah E. Warner

  5. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 101 Park DeVille/Suite A, Columbia, MO, 65203, USA

    John Weber & David Mosby

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  1. W. Nelson Beyer
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Correspondence to W. Nelson Beyer.

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Beyer, W.N., Franson, J.C., French, J.B. et al. Toxic Exposure of Songbirds to Lead in the Southeast Missouri Lead Mining District. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 65, 598–610 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-013-9923-3

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