BRI announces the publication of a scientific paper in the journal Science, which evaluated the acute and chronic exposure of Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles to lead (Pb) at a nationwide scale. BRI’s Raptor Program Director Chris DeSorbo was among 29 co-authors of the study, which broadly evaluated lead exposure in both species across 38 U.S. states. The study, led by Vince Slabe of Conservation Science Global and Todd Katzner of the U.S. Geological Survey, detected unexpectedly high frequencies of lead poisoning in tissues reflecting both acute (blood, liver, feather) and chronic (bone) exposure to lead. Continent-scale demographic modeling suggested that lead poisoning at observed levels suppresses population growth rates in each of these charismatic and iconic raptors.

Read the publication here.