Permanent approval of shot composed of tungsten-iron and tungsten-polymer for waterfowl hunting by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was pending the results of the present study that examined the health and reproductive effects of the two shot types on mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) over a 150-day period. We collected data pertaining to the effects of tungsten-iron and tungsten-polymer shot on mortality, body weight, organ weight, tissue pathology, and shot erosion. Thirty-two bird groups (sexes equal) of adult mallards were dosed orally with eight #4 steel shot (control), eight #4 tungsten-iron shot, or eight #4 tungsten-polymer shot on days 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 of a 150-day trial (26 January 1998 to 25 June 1998). An additional 12 mallards (sexes equal) were dosed orally with eight #4 lead shot (positive control) on day 0 of the study. All lead-dosed ducks died by day 25, whereas no ducks died in the other treatment groups. Significant liver hemosiderosis was present in all control and tungsten-iron-dosed males, in five of eight control and three of eight tungsten-iron-dosed females, and in one tungsten-polymer-dosed male examined. The rate of shot erosion was highest for tungsten-polymer shot (99%), followed by tungsten-iron (72%), and steel (55%) shot. Tungsten-iron or tungsten-polymer shot repeatedly administered to adult mallards did not have deleterious health effects during the 150-day trial based on mortality, body weights, organ weights, and histology of the liver and kidneys.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Articles|
July 01 2001
HEALTH EFFECTS FOLLOWING CHRONIC DOSING WITH TUNGSTEN-IRON AND TUNGSTEN-POLYMER SHOT IN ADULT GAME-FARM MALLARDS Open Access
R. R. Mitchell;
R. R. Mitchell
1 Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
Search for other works by this author on:
S. D. Fitzgerald;
S. D. Fitzgerald
6
2 Department of Veterinary Pathology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
6 Corresponding author (email: [email protected])
Search for other works by this author on:
R. J. Aulerich;
R. J. Aulerich
1 Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
4 Institute for Environmental Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
Search for other works by this author on:
R. J. Balander;
R. J. Balander
1 Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
Search for other works by this author on:
D. C. Powell;
D. C. Powell
1 Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
Search for other works by this author on:
R. J. Tempelman;
R. J. Tempelman
1 Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
Search for other works by this author on:
R. L. Stickle;
R. L. Stickle
3 Department of Large Animal Clinical Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
Search for other works by this author on:
W. Stevens;
W. Stevens
5 Federal Cartridge Company, Anoka, Minnesota 55303, USA
Search for other works by this author on:
S. J. Bursian
S. J. Bursian
1 Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
4 Institute for Environmental Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
Search for other works by this author on:
J Wildl Dis (2001) 37 (3): 451–458.
Article history
Received:
February 21 2000
Citation
R. R. Mitchell, S. D. Fitzgerald, R. J. Aulerich, R. J. Balander, D. C. Powell, R. J. Tempelman, R. L. Stickle, W. Stevens, S. J. Bursian; HEALTH EFFECTS FOLLOWING CHRONIC DOSING WITH TUNGSTEN-IRON AND TUNGSTEN-POLYMER SHOT IN ADULT GAME-FARM MALLARDS. J Wildl Dis 1 July 2001; 37 (3): 451–458. doi: https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-37.3.451
Download citation file:
Citing articles via
Shell Lesion Prevalence and Bacteriome Associations in Threatened Western Pond Turtles (Actinemys marmorata and Actinemys pallida) in California, USA
Nathan Green, Aria Norwood, Cyrillus Sidhe, Adrian Mutlow, Jessica Aymen, Rochelle Stiles, Jessie Bushell, Tammy Lim, Edward Culver, Natalie Reeder, Matthew Timmer, Farley Connelly, Jackie Charbonneau, Will McCall, Leslie Koenig, Madison Stein, Nicholas Geist, Max R. Lambert, Obed Hernández-Gómez
Using Multivariate Analyses to Explore Host–Pathogen Coevolution in Complex Trait Space
Rachel M. Ruden, Amberleigh E. Henschen, Marissa M. Langager, Dana M. Hawley, James S. Adelman
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Giant Anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) in Mato Grosso Do Sul, Brazil
Mariana Pereira Alexandre, Camila Vêber de Souza, Letícia da Silva Ferreira Ribeiro Mathias, Raffaela Nogueira Bernardo, Vinícius Oliveira Batista, Leila Sabrina Ullmann, Débora Regina Yogui, Mario Henrique Alves, Danilo Kluyber, Mayara Grego Caiaffa, Arnaud Leonard Jean Desbiez, Roberta Lemos Freire, Rafaela Maria Boson Jurkevicz, Luiz Daniel de Barros, Juliana Arena Galhardo
Gray Seal (Halichoerus grypus) Pups Fail to Mount an Inflammatory Cytokine Response to Influenza A Virus
Christina M. McCosker, Milton Levin, Wendy B. Puryear, Jonathan A. Runstadler, Kimberly T. Murray, Kristina M. Cammen
High Prevalence of Antigen of and Specific Antibodies Against Various Viral Pathogens in European Wildcats (Felis silvestris) from Southwest Germany, 2020–2022
Sarah Pauline Stubbe, Johannes Lang, Nicole Nagler, Simon Franz Müller, Michael Lierz