Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Australian Veterinary Journal
Publisher
Wiley
School
School of Science
RAS ID
60281
Funders
Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Melbourne, as part of the Wiley - The University of Melbourne agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians
Abstract
There is a growing recognition of the harmful effects of lead exposure on avian and mammalian scavengers. This can lead to both lethal and non-lethal effects which may negatively impact wildlife populations. Our objective was to assess medium-term lead exposure in wild Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii). Frozen liver samples (n = 41), opportunistically collected in 2017–2022, were analysed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine liver lead concentrations. These results were then used to calculate the proportion of animals with elevated lead levels ( > 5 mg/kg dry weight) and examine the role of explanatory variables that may have influenced the results. The majority of samples analysed were from the south-east corner of Tasmania, within 50 km of Hobart. No Tasmanian devil samples were found to have elevated lead levels. The median liver lead concentration was 0.17 mg/kg (range 0.05–1.32 mg/kg). Female devils were found to have significantly higher liver lead concentrations than males (P = 0.013), which was likely related to lactation, but other variables (age, location, body mass) were not significant. These results suggest that wild Tasmanian devil populations currently show minimal medium-term evidence of exposure to lead pollution, although samples were concentrated in peri-urban areas. The results provide a baseline level which can be used to assess the impact of any future changes in lead use in Tasmania. Furthermore, these data can be used as a comparison for lead exposure studies in other mammalian scavengers, including other carnivorous marsupial species.
DOI
10.1111/avj.13252
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
Hutchinson, D. J., Jones, E. M., Pay, J. M., Clarke, J. R., Lohr, M. T., & Hampton, J. O. (2023). Further investigation of lead exposure as a potential threatening process for a scavenging marsupial species. Australian Veterinary Journal, 101(8), 313-319. https://doi.org/10.1111/avj.13252