Contaminant Concentrations and Reproductive Rate of Lake Superior Bald Eagles, 1989–2001 |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada;2. Bird Studies Canada, 115 Front Street, Port Rowan, Ontario N0E 1M0, Canada;3. Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada;1. Environment Canada, Wildlife and Landscape Science, National Wildlife Research Centre, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3, Canada;2. Canadian Wildlife Service, 6 Bruce St., Mount Pearl, NL A1N 4T3, Canada;3. Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, 4905 Dufferin St., Toronto, ON M3H 5T4, Canada;4. Canadian Wildlife Service, Canadian Centre for Inland Waters, 867 Lakeshore Rd., Burlington, ON L7R 4A6, Canada;5. Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre, Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada;1. Aix Marseille Univ, Univ Avignon, CNRS, IRD, IMBE, Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, France;2. Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, UMR5558, 69622 Villeurbanne, France;3. PSL Research University, CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, Biogéographie et Ecologie des Vertébrés, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier, France;4. CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier cedex 5, France;5. Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux Provence-Alpes-Côtes-d''Azur, Château de l''Environnement, F-84480 Buoux, France;6. Conservatoire des Espaces Naturels Provence-Alpes-Côtes-d''Azur, Maison de la Crau, 2 Place Léon Michaud, F-13310 Saint-Martin de Crau, France |
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| Abstract: | We investigated the trend in contaminant concentrations in Lake Superior bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) from 1989–2001, and examined the relationship of contaminant concentrations to eagle reproductive rate during that time. Concentrations of dichloro-diphenyl-dichloroethylene (DDE) and total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in nestling blood plasma samples decreased significantly from 1989-2001 (p = 0.007 for DDE, p = 0.004 for total PCBs). Mean contaminant concentrations in eaglet plasma, 21.7 μg/kg DDE (n=51) and 86.7 μg/kg total PCBs (n = 54), were near or below the estimated threshold levels for impairment of reproduction as determined in other studies. A preliminary assessment of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) concentrations indicated a mean of 7.9 μg/kg total PBDEs in Lake Superior eaglet plasma (n = 5). The number of occupied bald eagle nests along the Wisconsin shore of Lake Superior increased from 15 to 24 per year, between 1989 and 2001 (p < 0.001, r2 = 0.70, n = 13 years). Eagle reproductive rate did not increase or decrease significantly between 1989 and 2001 (p = 0.530, r2 = 0.037, n = 13 years, mean productivity = 0.96 young per occupied nest). The lack of correlation between reproductive rate and contaminant concentrations, as well as the comparison of contaminant concentrations to the estimated thresholds for impairment of reproduction, suggest that DDE and PCBs no longer limit the reproductive rate of the Lake Superior eagle population in Wisconsin. |
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