Lead Concentrations: Bats vs. Terrestrial Small Mammals Collected Near a Major Highway

Abstract

Meadow voles, white-footed mice, and short-tailed shrews were trapped adjacent to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and also near Montpelier Barn, 0.61 km NW of the Parkway (Laurel, Prince Georges Co., Md.). Big brown and little brown bats were captured at their roosts in Montpelier Barn. Average lead concentrations in bats generally exceeded those in terrestrial mammals, but levels in Parkway shrews did not differ significantly from levels in bats. Concentrations in Parkway shrews and white-footed mice exceeded those published previously for these two species. Estimated dosages of lead ingested by little brown bats, Parkway shrews, and Parkway voles equalled or exceeded dosages that have caused mortality or reproductive impairment in domestic mammals. Average lead concentrations in bats and Parkway shrews equalled or exceeded those reported for small rodents that had been collected at abandoned mining sites in Wales with lead-induced renal abnormalities. © 1979, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.