Oral Presentation Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Australasia 2021

Lead Exposure in Scavenging Wildlife from Mainland Australia (#38)

Jordan O Hampton 1
  1. University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia

Despite the worldwide nature of lead exposure in scavenging wildlife via ammunition, little research has been performed on this threatening process in Australia. This presentation describes research underway designed to improve understanding of this issue on a continent where use of lead-based bullets is currently widespread (Hampton et al. 2018). A 2018 study identified lead exposure as  potential threat to Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) (Hivert et al. 2018). No research had been conducted on Australian avian scavengers prior to 2020, when studies commenced on wedge-tailed eagles in the south-west of Australia (Aquila audax audax) (Lohr et al. 2020) and Tasmania (A. a. fleayi) (Pay et al. 2021). South-eastern mainland Australia, where the majority of the country’s human population resides, has been the subject of no published studies to date. This knowledge gap is being addressed by a project currently underway. The research aims to understand medium-and long-term lead exposure in the avian species identified as most at-risk via camera traps studies (Peisley et al. 2017; Woodford et al. 2020): wedge-tailed eagles, little eagles (Hieraaetus morphnoides), whistling kites (Haliastur sphenurus), black kites (Milvus migrans), black-breasted buzzards (Hamirostra melanosternon) and brown goshawks (Accipiter fasciatus). This is a passive surveillance project measuring lead levels in liver and bone from archived specimens. A similar approach is being used for native mammalian (dasyurid) and reptilian (varanid) species likely to be at-risk. It is hoped that the culmination of these research efforts will enable Australia to make a more substantial contribution to the international conversation surrounding lead poisoning in wildlife.

  1. Hampton, J. O., Laidlaw, M., Buenz, E., and Arnemo, J. M. (2018). Heads in the sand: public health and ecological risks of lead-based bullets for wildlife shooting in Australia. Wildlife Research 45, 287–306.
  2. Hivert, L., Clarke, J., Peck, S., Lawrence, C., Brown, W., Huxtable, S. J., Schaap, D., Pemberton, D., and Grueber, C. E. (2018). High blood lead concentrations in captive Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii): a threat to the conservation of the species? Australian Veterinary Journal 96, 442–449.
  3. Lohr, M. T., Hampton, J. O., Cherriman, S., Busetti, F., and Lohr, C. (2020). Completing a worldwide picture: preliminary evidence of lead exposure in a scavenging bird from mainland Australia. Science of the Total Environment 715, 135913.
  4. Pay, J. M., Katzner, T. E., Hawkins, C. E., Koch, A. J., Wiersm, J. M., Brown, W. E., Mooney, N. J., and Cameron, E. Z. (2021). High frequency of lead exposure in the population of an endangered Australian top predator, the Tasmanian wedge‐tailed eagle (Aquila audax fleayi). Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 40, 219–230.
  5. Peisley, R. K., Saunders, M. E., Robinson, W. A., and Luck, G. W. (2017). The role of avian scavengers in the breakdown of carcasses in pastoral landscapes. Emu-Austral Ornithology 117, 68–77.
  6. Woodford, L. P., Forsyth, D. M., and Hampton, J. O. (2020). Scavenging birds at risk of ingesting lead bullet fragments from kangaroo and deer carcasses in south-eastern Australia. Australian Field Ornithology 37, 112–116.