Project Objectives and Location:

Project Descriptions:

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) blood, feather, and egg samples are from five discrete sources. Although specific objectives varied, researchers assessed mercury levels of eagles as part of efforts to protect their populations.

The five studies are as follow:

• Weimeyer collected eggs and tested them for organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, and mercury for a 15 state eagle contaminant study conducted during the 1970’s and 1980’s in order to assess how environmental contaminants affected the eagle population (Wiemeyer et al. 1972, Wiemeyer et al. 1984, and Wiemeyer et al. 1993). Metadata included basic morphometrics and productivity.

• The Massachusetts Division of Fish and Wildlife collected eagle nestling blood samples and tested them for led and mercury for a Massachusetts eagle contaminant study conducted from 1989-1997 in order to assess how contaminants affected the eagle population (W. Davis, Mass. Div. Fish & Wildlife, per. com. 2001). Metadata included basic morphometrics, a blood profile, and productivity.

• Welch (1994) collected egg, and eagle nestling blood and feather samples and tested them for organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, TCDD-EG, and mercury for a Maine eagle contaminant study conducted in 1991 and 1992 in order to seek relationships between the reproductive success of Maine eagles and contaminant loads. Metadata included basic morphometrics and productivity.

• BioDiversity Research Institute, FPL Energy Maine Hydro, and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife collected eagle nesting blood samples and tested them for mercury for a Maine eagle contaminant study conducted in 2000 and 2001 in order to seek relationships between mercury levels in eagles and other piscivores (BioDiversity Research Institute, Unpubl. data). Metadata included basic morphometrics and productivity.

• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife collected eggs and tested them for organochlorine contaminants and mercury for a Maine study conducted in 2000 in order to assess the eagles contaminant loads (Mierzykowski et al. 2002). Metadata included basic morphometrics and productivity.

Sample Analysis:

In most cases the samples were analyzed with cold-vapor atomic absorption (CVAA) spectroscopy. Welch’s samples were analyzed using gel-permeation chromatography at Hazelton Laboratories (Madison Wisconsin) and Mississippi State University.

BioDiversity Research Institute’s blood samples were analyzed at the University of Pennsylvania's toxicology lab. Analysis of bird blood, feather, and eggs was for total Hg because MeHg comprises 95% or more of the total Hg (Thompson 1996, BRI Unpubl. data).  All eggs were adjusted for moisture loss by dividing the total egg weight by the egg volume (Stickel et al. 1973).

Literature Cited

Mierzykowski, S. E, C. S. Todd, and K. C. Carr. 2002 Organichlorine compounds and mercury in Bald Eagle eggs, Penobscot River, Maine. Poster presented on 22-24 April 2002 at the Northeast Fish and Wildlife Conference, Portland, Maine.

Stickel, L. F., S. N. Wiemeyer, and L. J. Blus.  1973.  Pesticide residues in eggs of wild birds: Adjustment for loss of moisture and lipid.  Bull. Environ. Contam. Tox. 9:193-196.

Thompson, D. R.  1996. Mercury in Birds and Terrestrial Animals. In: W. N. Beyer, Gary H. Heinz, Amy W. Redmon-Norwood (Ed.), Environmental Contaminants in Wildlife: Interpreting Tissue Concentrations (pp. 341-355). Clemson, SC: Lewis Publisher.

Welch, L. J.  1994.  Contaminant burdens and reproductive rates of Bald Eagles breeding in Maine.  M.S. Thesis,

Univ. Maine, Orono, Maine.

Wiemeyer, S. N., B. M. Mulhern, F. J. Ligas, R. J. Hensel, J. E. Mathisen, F. C. Robards, and S. Postupalsky. 1972. Residues of organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, and mercury in bald eagle eggs and changes in shell thinkness—1969 and 1970. Pesticides Monitoring Journal. 6: 50-55.

Wiemeyer, S. N., T. G. Lamont, C. M. Bunck, C. R. Sindeler, F. J. Gramlich, J. D. Fraser, and M. A. Byrd. 1984. Organochlorine pesticide, polychlorinated biphenyl, and mercury residues in Bald Eagle eggs – 1969-1979 – and their relationship to shell thinning and reproduction. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxic. 13:529-549.

Wiemeyer, S. N., C. M. Bunck, and C. J. Stafford. 1993. Environmental contaminants in Bald Eagle eggs – 1980-84 – and further interpreation of relationships to productivity and shell thickness. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxic. 24:213-227.