Authors:

Thao Le

Date Created:

Not specified

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Professor:

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About Paper:

Lead (Pb) is a non-essential heavy metal that persists in the environment and bioaccumulates through air, soil, and water, posing long-term health risks to humans and wildlife. Urban environments, characterized by high anthropogenic activity, are particularly vulnerable to lead contamination. Under the One Health framework, this study investigated how lead concentrations in three urban mesopredator species, raccoons (Procyon lotor), opossums (Didelphis virginiana), and skunks (Mephitis mephitis), relate to urbanization across Chicago. Liver samples (n = 92) were collected between July and October 2022 from 56 sites on the North Side of Chicago and surrounding suburbs and analyzed for lead concentration (ppm). Lead concentrations were modeled as a function of species, age, sex, mass, and urbanization score, and results showed that urbanization was a significant predictor of lead concentration (p < 0.05). Raccoons consistently exhibited the highest mean concentrations, while opossums showed the lowest. An increase in urbanization score nearly doubled the odds of an individual exceeding the median lead concentration (3.19 ppm). These findings indicate that urbanization amplifies exposure risk and that behavioral differences among species influence lead accumulation. Overall, results support the use of urban mesopredators as bioindicators for assessing environmental contamination and highlight their value in guiding future One Health surveillance and mitigation strategies in metropolitan areas.

Source:

DePaul University

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No topics listed

Co-authors:

Thao Le