Incidence of Shot in Heavily Hunted Marsh Areas in Eastern Kansas

Abstract

Substrate samples from heavily hunted locations in three eastern Kansas marshes were analyzed radiographically for shotgun pellets during 1984. Pellet densities ranged from 0 to 51.4/m2 (0 to 514,000/ha), similar to data from surveys conducted in heavily hunted marshes in Minnesota, Illinois, and Missouri. Annual cultivation appeared to reduce the availability of shot in the upper 12 cm of marsh sediment and may be a means of reducing lead poisoning problems where lead shot contamination is high. Lead shotgun pellets are deposited on the bottoms of wetlands across North America by waterfowl hunters. It is estimated that as much as 2.7 million kg of spent pellets are deposited in lakes and marshes in the United States annually (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1976). Spent lead pellets are ingested by waterfowl and ground down in the gizzard, the lead is then absorbed, and death may result. Waterfowl deaths from lead poisoning have been recorded since the late 1800's (Phillips and Lincoln, 1930) and may account for an annual loss of 2 to 3% of the North American waterfowl population (Bellrose, 1959). Beginning in 1986, all waterfowl hunting on federal land must be done with nontoxic steel shot. Waterfowl hunting on numerous state-owned lands also requires the use of steel shot. However, lead shot in wetlands may remain available to feeding waterfowl for many years, depending on settling and/or siltation rates (Bellrose, 1959; Wycoff et al., 1971). Very little data exist on density of lead shot in Kansas marshes. This study was initiated in 1984 to determine the concentrations of lead shot in heavily hunted areas of marshes in eastern Kansas. I Present address: Comparative Toxicology Laboratories, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.28 on Tue, 30 Aug 2016 04:58:18 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms VOLUME 90, NUMBERS 3-4 139