Blood constituents and electrophoretic patterns in antarctic birds: Penguins and skuas

Hematology, Biochemistry and Serum Protein Analyses of Antarctic and non-Antarctic Skuas

“…Hematological and biochemical values reported in this work for Antarctic skuas were similar to those previously described for these species (Milsom et al 1973;Myrcha and Kostelecka-Myrcha 1980;Rosa et al 1993) and for other seabirds (Karesh et al 1999;Uhart et al 2003). Adult Antarctic skuas showed variations in hemoglobin, erythrocyte sedimentation, total lipids and aminotransferase activities.…”

Diet of South Polar Skua Chicks in Two Areas of Sympatry with Brown Skua

“…Also, an increase in hematocrit is usually associated with dehydration (Campbell 1988). No dehydration was observed in adult Brown Skuas, since electrolyte levels were similar to those described for South Polar Skuas (Rosa et al 1993). Multiple blood metabolites (lipids, proteins and glucose) are regulated by dietary intake and metabolism and serve as an indicator of the nutritional status of wild (Reinhardt and Van Vleet 1986;Reinhardt et al 1997;Montalti et al 2009).…”

“…There is little reported data about normal hematology and biochemistry of Antarctic skuas (Milsom et al 1973;Myrcha and Kostelecka-Myrcha 1980;Rosa et al 1993;Kursa and Bezrukov 2008), while no studies have been reported on non-Antarctic skuas. There were no reported comparisons about hematological and biochemical reference values between adults and chicks of these species.…”

Haematological values of three Antarctic penguins: gentoo (Pygoscelis papua), Adélie (P. adeliae) and chinstrap (P. antarcticus)

“…Of particular importance are the penguins, including the three species of the genus Pygoscelis: gentoo (P. papua), Adé lie (P. adeliae) and chinstrap (P. antarcticus), whose breeding range extends south of 608S. In penguins, haematological research has been carried out mainly on blood respiratory properties (Lenfant et al 1969;Milsom et al 1973;Nicol et al 1988;Rosa et al 1993) and on changes in plasma nutrients and metabolites during fasting in breeding season (Cherel, Leloup et al 1988;Cherel, Robin et al 1988;Ghebremeskel et al 1989;Ghebremeskel et al 1991;Ghebremeskel et al 1992;Merino & Barbosa 1997;Vleck & Vleck 2002). Notwithstanding the great attention given to penguins because their special adaptations to environmental conditions, there are little reported data about normal haematology and plasma biochemistry of members of the Pygoscelis genus (Merino & Barbosa 1997;Najle et al 2006).…”