Field and Clinical Techniques for Sampling and Handling Blood for Hematologic and Selected Biochemical Determinations in the Desert Tortoise, Xerobates agassizii

Jacobson, Elliott R.; Schumacher, Juergen; Green, Mary

doi:10.2307/1446559

Cited by 42 publications

(29 citation statements)

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“…Fish and Wildlife Service (Fish and Wildlife Service, 1994). At about the same time, the Bureau of Land Management (U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC) initiated several research projects in response to developing disease problems in desert tortoise populations, including mycoplasmosis (upper respiratory tract disease; Jacobson et al, 1991) and shell disease .…”

Section: Desert Tortoises (Gopherus Agassizii)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reference Intervals and Physiologic Alterations in Hematologic and Biochemical Values of Free-Ranging Desert Tortoises in the Mojave Desert

Christopher

Berry

Wallis

et al. 1999

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

179

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Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) populations have experienced precipitous declines resulting from the cumulative impact of habitat loss, and human and disease-related mortality. Evaluation of hematologic and biochemical responses of desert tortoises to physiologic and environmental factors can facilitate the assessment of stress and disease in tortoises and contribute to management decisions and population recovery. The goal of this study was to obtain and analyze clinical laboratory data from free-ranging desert tortoises at three sites in the Mojave Desert (California, USA) between October 1990 and October 1995, to establish reference intervals, and to develop guidelines for the interpretation of laboratory data under a variety of environmental and physiologic conditions. Body weight, carapace length, and venous blood samples for a complete blood count and clinical chemistry profile were obtained from 98 clinically healthy adult desert tortoises of both sexes at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural area (western Mojave), Goffs (eastern Mojave) and Ivanpah Valley (northeastern Mojave). Samples were obtained four times per year, in winter (February/March), spring (May/June), summer (July/August), and fall (October). Years of near-, above-and below-average rainfall were represented in the 5 yr period. Minimum, maximum and median values, and central 95 percentiles were used as reference intervals and measures of central tendency for tortoises at each site and/or season. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance for significant (P Ͻ 0.01) variation on the basis of sex, site, season, and interactions between these variables. Significant sex differences were observed for packed cell volume, hemoglobin concentration, aspartate transaminase activity, and cholesterol, triglyceride, calcium, and phosphorus concentrations. Marked seasonal variation was observed in most parameters in conjunction with reproductive cycle, hibernation, or seasonal rainfall. Year-to-year differences and long-term alterations primarily reflected winter rainfall amounts. Site differences were minimal, and largely reflected geographic differences in precipitation patterns, such that results from these studies can be applied to other tortoise populations in environments with known rainfall and forage availability patterns.

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Section: Desert Tortoises (Gopherus Agassizii)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reference Intervals and Physiologic Alterations in Hematologic and Biochemical Values of Free-Ranging Desert Tortoises in the Mojave Desert

Christopher

Berry

Wallis

et al. 1999

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

179

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“…We sampled whole blood, <0.5% of body mass (minimally 50 mL), via sterile jugular venipuncture (Jacobson et al 1992;Christopher et al 1999) and immediately measured haematocrit (Hct or packed cell volume, %) on centrifuged aliquants (10 min, 2200g on a Force 7 microcentrifuge, Denver Instrument, Denver, Colorado, USA). The remaining blood was kept on ice and we measured -1 haemoglobin concentration (Hb, g dL) within 16 h of sampling, on a BMS portable haemoglobinmeter (cyanmethaemoglobin method; Omron Healthcare, Vernon, Illinois, USA).…”

Section: Haematology and Body Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

Body of evidence: forensic use of baseline health assessments to convict wildlife poachers

Henen

Hofmeyr

Baard³

2013

Wildl. Res.

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Context. Given the immense impact of wildlife trade, disease and repatriations on populations, health assessments can provide powerful forensic material to help convict wildlife poachers and minimise risks of releasing unhealthy wildlife. Aims. We aimed to use reference ranges to assess the health of confiscated tortoises, to illustrate forensic application of these ranges, and to advance analyses for future applications. Methods. We used analyses of variance (ANOVA) and covariance (ANCOVA), and composite indices, to compare wild and confiscate tortoise body condition, haematocrit and haemoglobin concentration of males and females of three tortoise species. Subsequently, we used multivariate statistics (e.g. discriminant analyses) to evaluate the relative importance of species, sex and group (wild or confiscate) on tortoise condition and haematology. Key results. Our initial statistical tests demonstrated, at P < 0.05 to P < 0.0005, that confiscate body condition and haematology were compromised compared with that of wild tortoises. Subsequently, discriminant analyses strongly discriminated between most wild and confiscate groups (P < 0.0001), correctly classified individual health as wild or confiscate 80-90% of the time, indicated that species and sex effects were stronger than was the wild-confiscate category, and provided discriminant functions for use on other taxa and studies. Conclusions. The health assessments discriminated well between wild and confiscate tortoises. The results had considerable forensic value, being relevant, quickly generated using portable field equipment, reliable, accurate, easy to explain and convey in terms of likelihood in a court of law, synergistically consistent among variables and groups, a strong rebuttal to the poachers' specific statements, and consistent with other types of evidence. Multivariate analyses were consistent with, and more prudent and powerful than, the original statistical analyses. Discriminant functions can be applied in future studies and on other chelonian species, and should be developed for other wildlife species. Implications. Reference ranges provide considerable value for forensics, diagnostics and treatment. Given the disease risks resulting from the massive scale of wildlife trade and release, reference ranges should be developed for more species.

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“…Captive tortoises may be a source of M. agassizii to free-ranging populations (Jacobson et al, 1991;, and this could explain the high prevalence of M. agassizii in tortoises at our Mojave sites. Captive tortoise releases were reported in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve (City Creek) and on the Beaver Dam Slope (Littlefield) in the 1970s and 1980s (Duck, unpubl.…”

mentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Twenty minutes after immobilization, 1.0 ml of whole blood was collected by jugular venipuncture (Jacobson et al, 1992) and placed in a lithium heparin microtainer (Becton Dickinson, Rutherford, New Jersey, USA). After mixing for 5 min, plasma (approximately 0.5 ml) was separated by centrifugation, placed in a cryogenic vial (Whatman LabSales, Hillsboro, Oregon, USA), and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mycoplasmosis in Free-ranging Desert Tortoises in Utah and Arizona

Dickinson

Schumacher²,

Jarchow³

et al. 2005

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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Upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) has been associated with major losses of free-ranging desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the southwestern United States. This prompted a clinical examination of 63 free-ranging desert tortoises for signs of URTD and sampling for Mycoplasma agassizii, the causative agent of URTD. Tortoises were sampled from three sites in the eastern Mojave Desert (1992-93), and from three sites in the Sonoran Desert (1992-94). Plasma samples were tested for antibodies to M. agassizii using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Nasal aspirate samples from 12 Sonoran tortoises were tested using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test directed at the 16S rRNA gene of M. agassizii. Nasal aspirate samples from all tortoises were cultured for M. agassizii. In the Mojave Desert, nine tortoises had clinical signs of URTD and eight were seropositive for M. agassizii. In the Sonoran Desert, there were no clinical signs of URTD, but two tortoises were seropositive, and two tortoises had positive PCR results.

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Field and Clinical Techniques for Sampling and Handling Blood for Hematologic and Selected Biochemical Determinations in the Desert Tortoise, Xerobates agassizii

Cited by 42 publications

References 0 publications

Reference Intervals and Physiologic Alterations in Hematologic and Biochemical Values of Free-Ranging Desert Tortoises in the Mojave Desert

Reference Intervals and Physiologic Alterations in Hematologic and Biochemical Values of Free-Ranging Desert Tortoises in the Mojave Desert

Body of evidence: forensic use of baseline health assessments to convict wildlife poachers

Mycoplasmosis in Free-ranging Desert Tortoises in Utah and Arizona

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