Seasonal anaemia in the rottnest quokka, Setonix brachyurus (quoy &amp; gaimard) (Marsupialia; Macropodidae)

Barker, S; Glover, R.; Jacobsen, P.; Kakulas, B. A.

doi:10.1016/0300-9629(74)90550-7

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…While studies do exist on the HMT [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] and BLC [10,15] in quokkas, this has scarcely been for free-ranging populations [6][7][8] and mostly for captive animals that are likely to have quite different values for at least some parameters, e.g. due to different nutrition [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. From these studies, only three report white blood cell data (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Haematology and blood chemistry in free-ranging quokkas (Setonix brachyurus): Reference intervals and assessing the effects of site, sampling time, and infectious agents

2020

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Quokkas (Setonix brachyurus) are small macropodid marsupials from Western Australia, which are identified as of conservation concern. Studies on their blood analytes exist but involve small sample sizes and are associated with very little information concerning the health of the animals. Blood was collected from free-ranging quokkas from Rottnest Island (n = 113) and mainland (n = 37) Western Australia, between September 2010 and December 2011, to establish haematology and blood chemistry reference intervals. Differences in haematology and blood chemistry between sites (Rottnest Island v mainland) were significant for haematology (HMT, p = 0.003), blood chemistry (BLC, p = 0.001) and peripheral blood cell morphology (PBCM, p = 0.001). Except for alkaline phosphatase, all blood chemistry analytes were higher in mainland animals. There were also differences with time of year in HMT (p = 0.001), BLC (p = 0.001) and PBCM (p = 0.001) for Rottnest Island quokkas. A small sample of captive animals (n = 8) were opportunistically sampled for plasma concentrations of vitamin E and were found to be deficient compared with wild-caught animals. Fifty-eight of the 150 quokkas were also tested for the presence of Salmonella, microfilariae, Macropodid herpesvirus-6, Theileria spp., Babesia spp., trypanosomes, Cryptococcus spp. and other saprophytic fungi. All eight infectious agents were detected in this study. Infectious agents were detected in 24 of these 58 quokkas (41%), with more than one infectious agent detected for all 24 individuals. Salmonella were detected concurrently with microfilariae in 8 of these 24 quokkas, and this mixed infection was associated with lower values across all haematological analytes, with Salmonella having the greater involvement in the decreased haematological values (p < 0.05). There was no evidence for an effect of sex on HMT, BLC and PBCM. Our data provide important haematological and blood chemistry reference intervals for free-ranging quokkas. We applied novel methods of analyses to HMT and BLC that can be used more broadly, aiding identification of potential disease in wildlife.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While studies do exist on the HMT [ 6 – 15 ] and BLC [ 10 , 15 ] in quokkas, this has scarcely been for free-ranging populations [ 6 – 8 ] and mostly for captive animals that are likely to have quite different values for at least some parameters, e.g. due to different nutrition [ 9 – 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Haematology and blood chemistry in free-ranging quokkas (Setonix brachyurus): Reference intervals and assessing the effects of site, sampling time, and infectious agents

2020

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“…Rottnest Island also has a very limited supply of freshwater that consists mostly of groundwater and a few freshwater seeps (Poole et al , ). During the summer months, water and vegetation are even more limited and many quokkas die from nutrient deficiencies and/or dehydration (Storr, ; Barker et al , ; Poole et al , ). Further, these pronounced drought events and large‐scale climatic variability are recorded via oxygen isotopes in teeth, with ≥5.1‰ variability on Rottnest Island over ~1 decade of specimen collection that likely resulted due to increased 16 O evaporation in leaf material concurrent with extreme droughts (DeSantis et al , ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive species, not environmental changes, restrict the population and geographical range of the quokka (Setonix brachyurus)

Scholtz

DeSantis

2020

Journal of Zoology

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European arrival into Australia had large-scale impacts on the local flora and fauna. Most notably, Europeans brought with them numerous non-native species, including the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes), European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and the goat (Capra hircus) among many others. The introduction of these species had significant consequences on native Australian mammals, causing some small-to medium-sized herbivores to become geographically restricted to primarily islands. Here, we examined the dietary ecology of the quokka (Setonix brachyurus), a native marsupial herbivore with a restricted geographic range in Western Australia before and after European arrival. Fossils from south-western Australia and modern specimens were examined via dental microwear texture analysis and stable isotope analysis to assess whether the diet of the quokka had changed dramatically over time. Collectively, we help clarify whether there were any ecological reasons as to why this marsupial became geographically restricted, aside from the presence of invasive predators on mainland Australia. The quokka maintains a browsing diet from the Pleistocene to the present on the mainland, but modern island populations eat drier and tougher foods when living on islands lacking invasive mammals. There is also an apparent shift in the feeding environment of the quokkas on mainland Australia, from more open forests/shrublands in the Pleistocene to denser and wetter forests. Multi-proxy data collectively indicate that the restricted range of the quokka today is most likely a result of predation from non-native taxa and/or other human influences -not because of a lack of suitable habitat.

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“…Hemorrhagic anemia has been recorded in marsupials with gastrointestinal parasites (eastern gray kangaroo, Arundel et al ) and with heavy tick infestation (koala [ Phascolarctos cinereus ], Obendorf ). Hemolytic anemia in marsupials has been associated with both infectious (from hemoprotozoa, bacterial, and fungal toxins) and non‐infectious (nutritional deficiencies most notably, iron and copper deficiency) causes (Barker et al , Barboza and Vanselow ). Although ticks and gastrointestinal parasites have been reported as a cause of hemorrhagic anemia (Arundel et al , Spencer and Canfield ) we cannot directly compare hematological values with parasite prevalence or burden given samples were collected in different years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring the health status of free-ranging tammar wallabies using hematology, serum biochemistry, and parasite loads

Robert

Schwanz

2013

Jour. Wild. Mgmt.

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Population differences in body condition, parasitic burden, hematology, and serum biochemistry of free-living tammar wallabies (Macropus eugenii) are presented and compared to studies reporting values in captive tammar wallabies. The nutritional distinction in the composition and quality of the available vegetation on Garden Island produces 3 sub-populations that differ in their human disturbance, body condition, rates of reproduction, and survival, providing unique opportunities to examine conditionrelated health parameters in free-living wallabies. Our results show several hematology analytes (in particular, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration), all the measured serum biochemistry analytes (urea, creatinine, triglycerides, and albumin), and total gastrointestinal parasite burden are significantly associated with body condition (body mass index), providing reliable indices of wallaby condition and habitat quality. The means and standard errors for hematology analytes (in particular, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration) and all serum biochemistry values for free-ranging wallabies lie below and outside of reference ranges for captive wallabies, despite the naval base sub-population benefiting from human modified habitats with a consistent availability of food. This indicates that free-ranging tammar wallabies may be suffering from some challenges that captive wallabies do not face. The hematology and serum biochemistry values coupled with body condition indices suggest wallabies in the south bush sub-population are under greater nutritional stress and suffering from prolonged malnutrition. Examining all parameters in a single year and across years would be beneficial to further investigate habitat differences driving this change to help distinguish if vegetative structure and associated nutritional deficiencies and/or disease are limiting this population. Health monitoring is an integral part of the management of both captive and free-living populations and the data presented here will serve as an effective management tool in assessing the health status of free-living tammar wallabies. Ó 2013 The Wildlife Society.

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Seasonal anaemia in the rottnest quokka, Setonix brachyurus (quoy & gaimard) (Marsupialia; Macropodidae)

Cited by 11 publications

References 12 publications

Haematology and blood chemistry in free-ranging quokkas (Setonix brachyurus): Reference intervals and assessing the effects of site, sampling time, and infectious agents

Haematology and blood chemistry in free-ranging quokkas (Setonix brachyurus): Reference intervals and assessing the effects of site, sampling time, and infectious agents

Invasive species, not environmental changes, restrict the population and geographical range of the quokka (Setonix brachyurus)

Monitoring the health status of free-ranging tammar wallabies using hematology, serum biochemistry, and parasite loads

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