Susan D. Haseltine

Contaminant levels in colonial waterbirds from Green Bay and Lake Michigan, 1975-80

Residues of organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), polychlorinated styrenes (PCSs), and mercury were measured in the eggs of 10 species of colonial waterbirds nesting in areas around Green Bay or Lake Michigan from 1975 to 1980. Residues also were measured in the carcasses and brains of black-crowned night-herons (Nycticorax nycticorax). The highest residues were of PCBs, DDE, mercury, and dieldrin; for some species, levels of these chemicals possibly were high enough to have caused reproductive effects. Other organochlorine pesticides were found at low levels. Only trace amounts of PCSs and PBBs were found. Eggs of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) collected in 1977 from an island in Lake Michigan contained an average of 100 ppm PCBs and 33 ppm DDE; this was the most-contaminated species. Cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis), the only bird that is not a fish eater, contained only small quantities of DDE and mercury.

Aroclor 1242 and reproductive success of adult mallards (Anas platyrhynchos).

Abstract Twenty-four pairs of adult mallards were fed a diet containing 0 or 150 ppm of the PCB Aroclor 1242 for 12 weeks during which egg laying was induced. Laying started in both groups an average of 33 days after PCB treatment began. All hens were allowed to lay a 20-egg clutch; 15 eggs from each clutch were artificially incubated. Eleven hens from each group completed the clutch. There was no difference between the two groups in the time taken to lay the clutch, nor was there a difference in fertility, embryo mortality, or hatching success. Eggshell thickness decreased 8.9% with PCB ingestion; eggs from hens fed PCB contained an average of 105 ppm PCB wet wt. No difference in survival or weight gain to 3 weeks of age was observed between young mallards from eggs laid by PCB-treated hens and control hens.

Wildlife Habitat Management on the Northern Prairie Landscape

The northern prairie landscape has changed dramatically within the past century as a result of settlement by Europeans. Natural ecosystems have been disrupted and wildlife populations greatly altered. Natural resource agencies control only limited areas within the landscape, which they cannot manage independently of privately owned lands. Wildlife managers need first to set quantifiable objectives, based on the survival, reproduction, and distribution of wildlife. Second, they need to build public support and partnerships for meeting those objectives. Finally, they need to evaluate progress not only with respect to attitudes of the public and partners but, more importantly, of the wildlife response. This paper describes some useful tools for managing information at all phases of this process. We follow by discussing management options at a landscape level. Examples are given that involve agency lands as well as private lands, managed for biological resources and diversity as well as economic sustainability.

Organochlorine and mercury residues in snakes from Pilot and Spider Islands, Lake Michigan--1978.

Little is known about the chronic effects of environmental pollutants on snakes, but some investigators have suggested that snakes make good biological indicators of environmental contamination. Being carnivorous, snakes would be expected to carry fairly high contaminant loads as a result of food chain concentration. They are also generally more sedentary than many other vertebrates and should, therefore, be good indicators of pollutants in the area where they are collected. During the course of a contaminant study with waterfowl on several islands in Lake Michigan, we collected snakes in order to measure their organochlorine and mercury levels.

Reproduction and residue accumulation in black ducks fed toxaphene

Three sets of 15 pairs of black ducks (Anas rubripes) were given 0, 10, or 50 ppm toxaphene in a dry mash diet for a period of 19 months, which included two breeding seasons. Survival of adults was not affected, but the weights of treated males were depressed during the summer months. Egg production, fertility, hatchability, eggshell thickness, growth, and survival of young did not vary with toxaphene ingestion in either breeding season. However, the mean number of days required to complete a clutch was lower in birds fed toxaphene than in birds on the control diet. Clutches of hens fed 50 ppm toxaphene showed improved hatching success in the second year of the study.Carcass wet-weight (70% moisture) residues in adults and the young birds averaged from 50 to 100% of the dietary concentration (7% moisture); egg residues showed a similar trend. Carcass residues did not reflect those found in the livers or brains of the adults, which seldom exceeded 0.5 ppm. Toxaphene residues were found in the brain of only one 10 ppm bird, but were present in nearly all of the 50 ppm birds. Toxaphene residues were present in the liver all all birds ingesting toxaphene.

Avoidance behaviour of young black ducks treated with chromium.

Abstract Pairs of adult black ducks (Anas rubripes) were fed a diet containing 0, 20, or 200 ppm chromium in the form of chromium potassium sulfate. Ducklings from these pairs were fed the same diets as adults and were tested for their avoidance responses to a fright stimulus. Neither level of chromium had a significant effect on avoidance behavior.

Intestinal absorption of 5 chromium compounds in young black ducks anas rubripes

An in vivo intestinal perfusion technique was used to measure the absorption rates of five Cr compounds in black ducks. Cr was absorbed from saline solutions of KCr(SO4)2 and CrO3 at a rate about 1.5 to 2.0 times greater than from solutions of Cr, Cr(NO3)3, and Cr(C5H7O2)3. These results suggest the ionic form of Cr in solution may be an important factor in determining absorption of Cr compounds from the small intestine.

Monitoring contaminant exposure: Relative concentrations of organochlorines in three tissues of American black ducks

Comparison of organochlorine residues in wildlife must often be made to regulatory standards or to values of known biological significance; this is difficult when dissimilar tissues are analyzed and results are expressed on different bases. To relate levels in the different tissues used for regulatory and monitoring purposes and for biological assessments, we exposed American black ducks to mixtures of three organochlorines. Differences in residue burdens among tissues were not statistically significant when levels were expressed on a lipid weight basis. Levels of heptachlor and Aroclor 1254 in one tissue can be accurately predicted from those in another; such predictions for endrin are less reliable. Lipid weight based residue concentrations in wings may be used to predict whether levels in fat exceed residue standards set for human health or approach those associated with effects on populations of species sampled.