AVAILABILITY AND INGESTION OF LEAD SHOT BY MOURNING DOVES (ZENAIDA-MACROURA) IN SOUTHEASTERN NEW-MEXICO

During 1987, soil samples were collected before (August) and after (October) the first dove hunting season near a stocktank in Eddy Co., New Mexico. Lead shot were recovered from 54% of 120 soil samples (30.5 by 30.5 by 1.3 cm deep) collected in August (181 shot) and from 68% of 120 soil samples collected in October (929 shot). These data provided estimates of 167,593 and 860,185 lead shot/ha in the upper 1.3 cm of soil for August and October, respectively. Examination of gizzards collected from 420 mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) during 1985, 1986, and 1987 revealed that only one had ingested lead shot. Analyses of livers of 250 doves revealed that nine (3.6%) contained concentrations of lead >7 ppm wet weight (range of 8 to 257). Though large amounts of lead were available for ingestion, doves had a low incidence of lead consumption.