Effects of dietary selenium on reproduction and body mass of captive lesser scaup

Abstract The continental population of scaup has declined over the last three decades to levels that remain well below conservation goals. One proposed hypothesis for this decline is that increasing exposure to contaminants has led to decreased fitness in scaup, and selenium (Se) has been identified as a contaminant of concern. We conducted an experiment with captive scaup to simulate late spring migration exposure to environmentally relevant doses of dietary Se (control [<1 μg/g total Se], and 7.5 μg/g and 15 μg/g Se as selenomethionine) for 30 d, after which excess Se was removed from the diets prior to laying. Overall, we found no treatment effect on body mass, breeding probability, or clutch initiation dates. Egg Se concentrations of the 15 μg/g and 7.5 μg/g groups decreased rapidly after Se‐supplemented diets were removed and within 12 and 8 d post treatment, respectively, were below the suggested egg teratogenicity threshold of 9 μg/g (dry wt). We found no significant intraclutch variation in egg Se deposition. Blood Se concentrations differed between groups in proportion to dose, with a half‐life of 16 and 22 d for females when removed from the 15 and 7.5 μg/g treatments, respectively. Our findings suggest that exposure to dietary Se concentrations representative of spring‐staging environments is insufficient to adversely affect body mass or reproduction in scaup that subsequently migrate to uncontaminated breeding areas (e.g., in prairie‐parklands and boreal forest). Further studies of Se effects on scaup should focus on wintering birds in contaminated habitats.