Brown Corrine S, Luebbert Joanne, Mulcahy Daniel, Schamber Jason, Rosenberg Daniel H
Wild Waterbird Conservancy, Inc., P.O. Box 277, Grand Cane, Louisiana 71032, USA.
J Zoo Wildl Med. 2006 Sep;37(3):361-5. doi: 10.1638/05-092.1.
Sea duck populations are declining in Alaska. The reasons for the decline are not known; environmental lead exposure is one suspected cause. Thirty wild Steller's eider ducks (Polysticta stelleri) and 40 wild black scoter ducks (Melanitta nigra) were tested for blood lead levels using a portable blood lead analyzer (LeadCare; ESA, Inc., Chelmsford, Massachusetts 01824, USA). Sixty-seven and one-tenth percent of the sea ducks had undetectable blood lead levels, 30.0% had values indicating normal or background lead exposure, and 2.9% had values indicating lead exposure. None of the birds had values indicating lead toxicity, and no birds demonstrated clinical signs of toxicity. Birds in areas with higher human population density had higher blood lead levels than those in less densely populated areas. This is the first time a portable blood lead analyzer has been utilized with sea ducks in a field setting. Because it provides immediate results, it is valuable as a screening tool for investigators carrying out surgical procedures on birds in the field as well as establishing baseline blood lead data on sea ducks. Lead exposure does occur in wild sea ducks, and the study indicates that additional research is needed in order to determine the role environmental lead plays in declining sea duck populations.
阿拉斯加海鸭的数量正在减少。数量减少的原因尚不清楚；环境铅暴露是一个疑似原因。使用便携式血铅分析仪（LeadCare；ESA公司，美国马萨诸塞州切尔姆斯福德01824）对30只野生斯特勒海雀（Polysticta stelleri）和40只野生黑海番鸭（Melanitta nigra）进行了血铅水平检测。67.1%的海鸭血铅水平检测不到，30.0%的值表明铅暴露处于正常或背景水平，2.9%的值表明有铅暴露。没有一只鸟的值表明有铅中毒，也没有鸟表现出中毒的临床症状。人口密度较高地区的鸟类血铅水平高于人口密度较低地区的鸟类。这是便携式血铅分析仪首次在野外环境中用于海鸭检测。由于它能提供即时结果，作为一种筛查工具，对于在野外对鸟类进行手术的研究人员以及建立海鸭血铅基线数据都很有价值。野生海鸭确实存在铅暴露情况，该研究表明需要进行更多研究，以确定环境铅在海鸭数量减少中所起的作用。
