Widespread exposure to lead affects the body condition of free-living whooper swans Cygnus cygnus wintering in Britain

• Elevated blood lead levels of >20 μg dL−1 were found in 41.7% of whooper swans.
• Blood lead levels of ≥44 μg dL−1 were negatively associated with body condition.
• Clinical effects were at lower levels than previously described for Anseriformes.
• Reduction of lead shot in the environment would reduce the risk of lead exposure.

Lead poisoning, through the ingestion of spent lead gunshot, is an established cause of morbidity and mortality in waterbirds globally, but the thresholds at which blood levels begin to affect the physiology of birds in the wild are less well known. Here we determine the prevalence of lead exposure in whooper swans and, for the first time, identify the level of blood lead associated with initial reductions in body condition. Blood lead elevated above background levels (i.e. >20 μg dL−1) was found in 41.7% (125/300) of swans tested. Blood lead was significantly negatively associated with winter body condition when levels were ≥44 μg dL−1 (27/260 = 10%). Our findings indicating that sub-lethal impacts of lead on body condition occur at the lower end of previously established clinical thresholds and that a relatively high proportion of individuals in this population may be affected, reaffirm the importance of reducing contamination of the environment with lead shot.

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