Hematology and Blood Chemistry Parameters Differ in Free-Ranging Maned Wolves (Chrysocyon Brachyurus) Living in the Serra Da Canastra National Park Versus Adjacent Farmlands, Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT:There has been growing interest in the specific impacts of anthropogenic factors on the health of wildlife. This study examined hematology and serum chemistry status of a prominent carnivore, the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), living in, on the boundaries to, or on adjacent farmlands to the Serra da Canastra National Park, Brazil. Twenty-eighty wolves were captured, and values were compared 1) between subadults (n58 animals) and adults (n520 animals), 2) males (n512 animals) and females (n516 animals), and 3) among wolves living inside the park (n511), near the park border (n511 animals), and in neighboring farming areas (n56 animals). Age, gender, and wolf locations influenced (P,0.05) hematology and serum biochemistry values. Specifically, adults had lower (P,0.05) circulating phosphorus than subadults. Males had lower (P,0.05) serum glucose, creatinine phosphokinase, and cholesterol and higher (P,0.05) potassium than females. Erythrocyte count and serum cholinesterase were lower (P,0.05) in wolves living within the park compared with near the park border or on farmlands. Mean corpuscular volume was lower (P,0.05) in wolves living near the park border than those ranging within the park and on farmlands. Aspartate transaminase and chloride were higher (P,0.05) in wolves living inside the park compared with those ranging near the park border. Creatinine phosphokinase was lower (P,0.05) in wolves living on farmland compared with the other two locations. These results clearly reveal a relationship between age and gender on hematology and serum biochemistry values in free-living maned wolves. More importantly, certain traits indicative of health are potentially compromised in wolves living in areas under anthropogenic pressure. These data lay a foundation for examining the influence of farming and local domestic species on disease susceptibility and fitness in the maned wolf.

Maned Wolves of Noel Kempff Mercado National Park

“…The sex and age structure suggest juvenile recruitment into the population, although three of seven observed litters had no successful pups reared. Body weights for the MW in our study were less than those for MW in a recent study in Brazil (May-Júnior et al, 2009). The difference in body weight could be related to food availability as individuals lost weight coincident with a decline in rodents (Emmons, 2009;Chapter 4;Figure 4.3).…”

“…This may be due to the high value in one male (M5) (1,310 U/L) and the fact that both of the highest CK values were from males. Interestingly, in the Brazil study, there was also a difference in CK between males and females, with females having higher values than males (May-Júnior et al, 2009). A number of differences were evident between chemistry profile results of our NKP MW and those in captivity and free-living MW in Brazil.…”

“…Few studies have been conducted on the health of freeliving MW, however, available reports include baseline hematology and chemistry profiles (Dietz, 1984;May-Júnior et al, 2009) cystinuria and cysteine calculi (Carvalho and vasconcellos, 1995;Deem and Emmons, 2005;Dietz, 1984), descriptions of endo-and ectoparasites (Beldomenico et al, 2002;Bevilaqua et al, 1993;Carvalho and vasconcellos, 1995;Deem and Emmons, 2005;Robbins and Deem, 2002), dental trauma (Furtado et al, 2007), and evidence of exposure to a number of infectious agents (Deem and Emmons, 2005;Deem et al, 2008). All diseases reported in free-living MW (except gunshot wounds and trauma caused by vehicle contact) are also commonly reported in captive MW, including some not yet identified in free-living individuals, such as dermatitis, proliferative gingivitis, neoplasia, and spondyloarthropathy (Fletcher et al, 1979;Hammond, 2012;Maia and Gouveia, 2002;Norton, 1990;Reid et al, 2005;Maned Wolf Husbandry Manual, 2007;Rothschild et al, 2001).…”

Abdominal and pelvic ultrasound study of the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)

“…The blood serum evaluation revealed increases in the mean values of glucose, ALT, and alkaline phosphatase as well as decreases in the mean levels of urea, total protein, globulin, creatine phosphokinase, triglycerides, sodium, phosphate, potassium, and chloride. Although many of these tests had below or above average results, they were within range of the variations reported by May-Júnior et al (2009). According to Couto (2001), eosinophilia often results from parasitic diseases in dogs, especially roundworm and hookworm infestations, which might analogously explain the eosinophilia found among maned wolves.…”

“…The data acquired in the current study were compared with those published by Dietz (1984), Barbiers & Bush (1995), Mattos (2003), andMay-Júnior et al (2009) (Tables 6 and 7). Taking the values reported in the literature as references, the absolute and percentage mean values of eosinophils and monocytes in the blood cell count were higher than expected.…”