Response of American black ducks to dietary uranium: A proposed substitute for lead shot

Journal of Wildlife Management
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Abstract

Lead (Pb) shot has been associated with mortality in waterfowl (Trainer and Hunt 1965, Anderson 1975, Stout and Cornwell 1976) and other avian species (Benson et al. 1974, Kaiser et al. 1980, Pattee et al. 1981). Bellrose (1959) indicated that between 2 and 3% of waterfowl populations may be lost yearly to lead poisoning. Incidence of lead shot in waterfowl and estimates of mortality from lead poisoning have decreased slightly (Trost 1980) or not at all (Longcore et al 1982) in local areas since 1976, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated certain wetland areas in 32 states as steel shot zones. Studies in specific areas do not give a complete national picture, but do point to remaining problems. Steel shotshells are more expensive than Pb shotshells when purchased in a retail outlet; they cannot be used in all guns and have not been well received by some hunters who question their performance on ducks and geese (Humburg et al 1982).

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Response of American black ducks to dietary uranium: A proposed substitute for lead shot
Series title Journal of Wildlife Management
DOI 10.2307/3808174
Volume 47
Issue 4
Year Published 1983
Language English
Publisher Wiley
Contributing office(s) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Description 6 p.
First page 1124
Last page 1129
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