Serum chemistry of free‐ranging white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Svalbard

Abstract

These data provide valuable serum chemistry reference intervals for future health assessments of white whales in Svalbard and other white whale populations, as well as captive individuals.

Effect of age, sex, and season on the variation in blood analytes of a clinically normal ex situ population of killer whales (Orcinus orca)

“…The decrease in hepatocellular enzymes and the concurrent increase in total bilirubin could indicate decreased hepatocellular expression of these enzymes and decreased liver clearance capability in aging killer whales. Similar trends were reported in managed and wild beluga whales . However, albumin, which is synthesized by the liver, was higher in the older killer whales of this study.…”

“…Additionally, season and sex influenced 59% and 10% of the analytes, respectively. Many, but not all, of these effects on baseline hematologic and plasma biochemical values had been previously recognized in other cetacean species . This report is based on a larger sample size than any of the previously published reports on cetacean RIs, and samples were selected using stringent inclusion criteria, which could account for the high analyte percentages recognized as being significantly affected by these variables.…”

“…A small number of studies have reported on the clinicopathologic analytes of cetaceans, and a subset investigated host and environmental influences on these analytes. However, these studies almost exclusively focused on bottlenose dolphins and beluga whales . While variability was detected in these studies, no consistent drivers of the variabilities were detected across studies or species.…”

Lipidomics as a diagnostic tool of the metabolic and physiological state of managed whales: A correlation study of systemic metabolism

“…Much of what is known about the blood‐analyte values of cetaceans has been obtained from studying animals under professional care and from a few studies of free‐ranging individuals. These efforts have provided serviceable baseline values for comparison in the event of a change in the living conditions or health of these animals (Norman, Beckett, Miller, St. Leger, & Hobbs, ; St. Aubin, Deguise, Richard, Smith, & Geraci, ; Tryland, Thoresen, Kovacs, & Lydersen, ; Tsai, Chen, Lin, & Li, ). Variations in the analyte values for healthy cetaceans that were found to reflect differences within an individual, such as those due to physiological cycles, or among individuals, such as those due to sex and age, must be considered in the diagnosis of subclinical abnormalities or clinical diseases.…”

Hematologic and serum biochemical reference intervals for free-ranging common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and variation in the distributions of clinicopathologic values related to geographic sampling site

“…Aspects of the distributions of many clinicopathologic values have been described for some cetacean species, [12][13][14][15][16][17] and in particular for both captive 18 and wild 2,3,19 populations of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Those studies were primarily focused on evaluation of factors that affect values of clinicopathologic variables, such as age, sex, or season; thus, differences in the means of distributions among cohorts were examined.…”