[M-ZZ41] Environmental Pollution, Environmental Toxicology and Humans/Animals Health

[MZZ41-01] Lead (Pb) pollution in wild birds in Japan: Future perspectives for the monitoring of lead (Pb) pollution and toxicological assessment

*Mitsuki Kondo¹, Manabu Onuma¹, Shouta MM nakayama^2,3, Kei nabeshima¹, Tomoki Ootawa⁴, Mayumi Ishizuka² (1.Natinal Institute for environmental studies, 2.Labratory of Toxicology, Graduate school of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, 3.Zambia University, 4.Japan Wildlife Research Center)

Keywords:wild birds, lead poisoning, monitoring

Lead (Pb) poisoning is currently a serious environmental problem for wild birds. The accidental intake of Pb from various sources, such as shotgun bullets for hunting and fishing weights, have been reported to cause health problems in a variety of avian species worldwide, including Japan. The toxicity of lead is known as neurotoxicity, anemia, and gastrointestinal symptoms, as acute toxicity, followed by kidney damage, immune suppression, and reproductive disorders as chronic or sub-chronic toxicity. In particular, the immune suppression caused by Pb might be related to the susceptibility and spread of avian influenza, an infectious disease in which wild birds are the natural host, and should be addressed on a global scale to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. In addition, there is a need for accurate understanding of the toxic effects of Pb pollution in the wild, especially in species such as wild birds, where reproductive disorders and immune suppression might greatly affect their population declines. In actual monitoring of lead contamination in wild birds, it is important to target raptors which are rare species and potentially important species in higher ecosystems. However, limited sample size of these species makes them inadequate for monitoring in a nationwide area. Thus, the monitoring of lead contamination using waterfowl samples such as ducks, which are relatively common throughout Japan and samples are easily obtained, will be useful in understanding the status of contamination in the wild. Based on such situations, we are currently analyzing organ Pb concentrations in wild birds, especially raptors and waterfowls, as a foothold for accurate understanding of the toxic effects of Pb contamination on wild birds in Japan. Also, to elucidate the actual effect of Pb on wild birds, we conducted Pb exposure test on cultured cells from various wild avian species. In this presentation, we would like to share the current status of lead contamination in wild birds, and the current status and the prospects of this research.