Prevalence of imbedded and ingested shot gun pellets in breeding sea ducks in the Baltic Sea—possible implications for future conservation efforts
Several sea duck species in Europe face dwindling population numbers with following increased conservation focus. Shot gun practices may put extra pressure on populations not only by direct hunting mortality but also crippling and lead poisoning from ingestion of pellets. In this study, we examined three sea duck species breeding in the Swedish Archipelago of the Baltic Sea by x-raying trapped inc