Exploration-Avoidance and an Anthropogenic Toxin (Lead Pb) in a Wild Parrot (Kea: Nestor notabilis)

10.26686/wgtn.16959229.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Clio Reid

Keyword(s):

Lead Exposure ◽

Social Facilitation ◽

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Social Rank ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Personality Types ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Novel Objects ◽

Lead Levels

The ecological study of personality in animals is a relatively new field of behavioural investigation and of increasing importance to wildlife conservation. Kea (Nestor notabilis), hill country parrots endemic to South Island, New Zealand, are a good model for studying personality in an ecological context because they have a neophilic and explorative nature and are accessible for experimentation in the field. The study of personality is relevant to kea conservation if particular personality types (e.g., explorative) cause increased mortality, especially where kea come into contact with anthropogenic dangers. Its relevance may be even greater if, due to kea's social nature, social facilitation spreads that risk to other personality types. In this study I use experimental presentations of novel objects to investigate individual variation in exploration-avoidance behaviour in kea and apply my findings to the risk of lead exposure and poisoning because lead is present as novel objects in kea habitat. Analyses of blood lead levels and reactions to novel objects indicate that sex and age class, but more specifically personality, underlie a kea's reactions to novel objects and lead objects. Kea with explorative personalities have higher blood lead levels than aversive individuals. My results also indicate that social context, i.e., the presence of conspecifics and group size, are influential. Kea are more inclined to investigate novel objects in the presence of conspecifics, indicating that social facilitation plays a role in the exploration of novelty. Significant relationships between dominance category and behavioural response to novel objects indicates that social rank is related to personality, with dominant individuals being more explorative and subordinate individuals less explorative. These results highlight the potentially heavy cost of explorativity where kea and human habitats overlap. Explorative kea may be subject to an increased risk of injury or death and, if they facilitate exploration in aversive kea, increases the risk to those kea as well. Lead is a known cause of death in kea and as such affects kea survival. Lead has also been shown to have deleterious effects on other species at low levels. Kea live in a highly seasonal and periodically severe environment, the dangers of which arecompounded by various anthropogenic hazards including lead exposure. Kea are a longlivedand slowreproducing species at a high risk of decline from even a small reduction in itssurvival rate an imposed reduction in numbers could result in nonrecovery.

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Association of prenatal maternal blood lead levels with birth outcomes in the Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS): a nationwide birth cohort study

International Journal of Epidemiology ◽

10.1093/ije/dyaa162 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yoshihito Goto ◽

Marie Mandai ◽

Takeo Nakayama ◽

Shin Yamazaki ◽

Shoji F Nakayama ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Preterm Delivery ◽

Birth Outcomes ◽

Lead Exposure ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Maternal Blood ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Low Level ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Lead Levels ◽

Prenatal Lead Exposure

Abstract Background Despite dramatic declines in prenatal maternal blood lead levels (BLLs) in most developed countries, little is known about the effects of extremely low-level (<1.0 µg/dL) lead exposure on fetal growth. Methods We measured maternal BLL during the second or third trimester of pregnancy and assessed birth outcomes, including birthweight, preterm birth (<37 gestational weeks) risk, small for gestational age births (SGA; birthweight <10th percentile) and low birthweight (LBW; <2500 g). The association between birthweight and maternal BLL was estimated using linear and quadratic spline models. Multivariable logistic models were used to examine the risk of binary responses. Results From 103 099 pregnant women, 20 000 blood samples were randomly selected for analysis. The maternal BLL range was 0.16–7.4 µg/dL, and the median was 0.63 µg/dL. After adjusting for covariates, the linear model showed that each 0.1 μg/dL increase in maternal BLL was associated with a 5.4 g decrease in mean birthweight [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.4 to 7.5 g]. The risk of SGA [adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 1.03; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.05) and LBW (aOR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.05) increased, whereas the risk of preterm delivery did not (aOR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.02). Conclusions Even at a maternal BLL below 1.0 µg/dL, prenatal lead exposure was associated with decreased birthweight and increased risk of SGA and LBW, but not preterm delivery. The adverse effect estimates of prenatal lead exposure on birth outcomes were quantitatively small and clinically limited at this low level.

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A Study on the Association between Blood Lead Levels and Habitual Tobacco and Alcohol Use in Koreans with No Occupational Lead Exposure

Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine ◽

10.35371/kjoem.2008.20.3.165 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 165 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Ji Ung Park ◽

Se Won Oh ◽

Seung Hyun Kim ◽

Yang Hyun Kim ◽

Ryoung Jin Park ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Use ◽

Lead Exposure ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Occupational Lead Exposure ◽

Lead Levels

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Blood lead level and risk of hypertension in the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2016

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-82435-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Man Fung Tsoi ◽

Chris Wai Hang Lo ◽

Tommy Tsang Cheung ◽

Bernard Man Yung Cheung

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Lead Exposure ◽

Blood Lead Level ◽

Lead Level ◽

Blood Lead ◽

The United States ◽

Study Data ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Environmental Lead ◽

Lead Levels

AbstractLead is a heavy metal without a biological role. High level of lead exposure is known to be associated with hypertension, but the risk at low levels of exposure is uncertain. In this study, data from US NHANES 1999–2016 were analyzed. Adults with blood lead and blood pressure measurements, or self-reported hypertension diagnosis, were included. If not already diagnosed, hypertension was defined according to the AHA/ACC 2017 hypertension guideline. Results were analyzed using R statistics version 3.5.1 with sample weight adjustment. Logistic regression was used to study the association between blood lead level and hypertension. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were estimated. Altogether, 39,477 participants were included. Every doubling in blood lead level was associated with hypertension (OR [95%CI] 1.45 [1.40–1.50]), which remained significant after adjusting for demographics. Using quartile 1 as reference, higher blood lead levels were associated with increased adjusted odds of hypertension (Quartile 4 vs. Quartile 1: 1.22 [1.09–1.36]; Quartile 3 vs. Quartile 1: 1.15 [1.04–1.28]; Quartile 2 vs. Quartile 1: 1.14 [1.05–1.25]). In conclusion, blood lead level is associated with hypertension in the general population with blood lead levels below 5 µg/dL. Our findings suggest that reducing present levels of environmental lead exposure may bring cardiovascular benefits by reducing blood pressure.

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Increased Risk of Sub-Clinical Blood Lead Levels in the 20-County Metro Atlanta, Georgia Area—A Laboratory Surveillance-Based Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18105163 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (10) ◽

pp. 5163

Author(s):

Carmen M. Dickinson-Copeland ◽

Lilly Cheng Immergluck ◽

Maria Britez ◽

Fengxia Yan ◽

Ruijin Geng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Geographical Area ◽

Central Area ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Children At Risk ◽

Multilevel Regression ◽

Screening Programs ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Lead Levels

Lead (Pb) is a naturally occurring, highly toxic metal that has adverse effects on children across a range of exposure levels. Limited screening programs leave many children at risk for chronic low-level lead exposure and there is little understanding of what factors may be used to identify children at risk. We characterize the distribution of blood lead levels (BLLs) in children aged 0–72 months and their associations with sociodemographic and area-level variables. Data from the Georgia Department of Public Health’s Healthy Homes for Lead Prevention Program surveillance database was used to describe the distribution of BLLs in children living in the metro Atlanta area from 2010 to 2018. Residential addresses were geocoded, and “Hotspot” analyses were performed to determine if BLLs were spatially clustered. Multilevel regression models were used to identify factors associated with clinical BBLs (≥5 µg/dL) and sub-clinical BLLs (2 to <5 µg/dL). From 2010 to 2018, geographically defined hotspots for both clinical and sub-clinical BLLs diffused from the city-central area of Atlanta into suburban areas. Multilevel regression analysis revealed non-Medicaid insurance, the proportion of renters in a given geographical area, and proportion of individuals with a GED/high school diploma as predictors that distinguish children with BLLs 2 to <5 µg/dL from those with lower (<2 µg/dL) or higher (≥5 µg/dL) BLLs. Over half of the study children had BLLs between 2 and 5 µg/dL, a range that does not currently trigger public health measures but that could result in adverse developmental outcomes if ignored.

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