Methylmercury: Second-Generation Reproductive and Behavioral Effects on Mallard Ducks

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Abstract
Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) whose parents were fed a diet containing 0.5 ppm Hg (equal to about 0.1 ppm Hg in a natural diet) also were fed a diet containing 0.5 ppm Hg beginning at 9 days of age and continuing through their reproductive season. Hg in the eggs of treated hens averaged 0.86 ppm. Hens fed 0.5 ppm Hg made less efficient use of feed and laid a greater percentage of eggs outside nestboxes compared with controls. Hens fed Hg also produced fewer 1-wk-old ducklings than did controls. There were no significant differences between controls and ducklings from parents fed 0.5 ppm Hg in approach responses to tape-recorded maternal calls, in avoidance of a frightening stimulus or in open-field behavior. Ducklings from parents fed 0.5 ppm Hg did not grow as fast as did control ducklings.

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