Article

Article name HEMATOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS OF THE GRAY SEAL HALICHOERUS GRYPUS (PHOCIDAE) IN THE KANDALAKSHA STATE NATURE RESERVE (RUSSIA)
Authors

Irina A. Erokhina, Senior Researcher, Marine Mammals Laboratory, Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of RAS (183010, Russia, Murmansk, Vladimirskaya str., 17); e-mail: irina.erohina58@mail.ru
Nikolay N. Kavtsevich, Chief Researcher, Head of Marine Mammals Laboratory, Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of RAS (183010, Russia, Murmansk, Vladimirskaya str., 17); e-mail:
Tatyana V. Minzyuk, Researcher of the Marine Mammals Laboratory, Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of RAS (183010, Russia, Murmansk, Vladimirskaya str., 17); e-mail:

Reference to article

Erokhina I.A., Kavtsevich N.N., Minzyuk T.V. 2020. Hematological and biochemical parameters of the Gray seal Halichoerus grypus (Phocidae) in the Kandalaksha State Nature Reserve (Russia). Nature Conservation Research 5(1): 31–43. https://dx.doi.org/10.24189/ncr.2020.003

Section Research articles
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.24189/ncr.2020.003
Abstract

The paper presents results of the study of cellular composition and biochemical parameters of blood in gray seal (Halichoerus grypus grypus) in the Kandalaksha State Nature Reserve (Bolshoy Ainov Island, Barents Sea). Animals have been studied in an early postnatal period of development, i.e. from birth to weaning. We have determined the following blood parameters: leukocyte blood differential count and indicators of the functional activity of the cells, describing a level of nonspecific bactericidal activity, i.e. content of myeloperoxidase and cationic protein in granulocytes. The set of biochemical parameters includes the basic indicators of metabolism: total protein and its fractions, urea, creatinine, uric acid, glucose, lactic acid, total lipids, triglycerides, cholesterol, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium, iron, enzymes (aminotransferases, lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, α-amylase, γ-glutamyltransferase, creatine kinase). The values of hematological and biochemical parameters are within the limits of a norm described for H. grypus of the same ages. This allows us to characterise a status of pups born in 2006 and 2013 as a normal one. We have determined that in the first month of H. grypus' life the bactericidal function of leucocytes is carried out, mainly, by myeloperoxidase. Cationic protein serves only as an addition in the bactericidal system. Changes of metabolic characteristics in H. grypus during an early postnatal period are similar to those in terrestrial mammals. At the same time, the level of some indicators should be served as a feature of pinniped metabolism. So, gamma-glutamyltransferase activity, being a marker of passive immunoglobulins transfer in newborns, is almost 10 times lower than in terrestrial animals. The activity of alkaline phosphatase acted as an animal fatness index and to differentiate the catabolic and anabolic statuses, is higher in young H. grypus than in terrestrial mammals of the same age. Newborn H. grypus individuals also have a high blood oxygenous capacity, which is comparable with the indices of adults. Halichoerus grypus individuals born in 2006 and 2013 had similar hematological and biochemical blood parameters. The obtained values of blood parameters could be accepted as reference indices. They could be used to evaluate animal status and influence of various natural and anthropogenic factors on H. grypus.

Keywords

biochemistry, hematology, peripheral blood, physiological status assessment, rare species, Red Data Book

Artice information

Received: 27.09.2019. Revised: 22.11.2019. Accepted: 24.11.2019.

The full text of the article
References

Alekseev O.N. (Ed.). 1998. Hematology of childhood: A Guide for Physicians. St. Petersburg: Gippokrat. 544 p. [In Russian]
Barnett J.E.F., Turner L., Booth P.A., Hunt A.E. 2007. Haematological and biochemical values for grey seal pups (Halichoerus grypus) during early rehabilitation. Veterinary Record 161(13): 447–451. DOI: 10.1136/vr.161.13.447
Bobova L.P., Kuznetsov S.L., Saprykin V.P. 2003. Histophysiology of the blood and blood-forming organs and immunogenesis. Moscow: Novaya volna. 157 p. [In Russian]
Boily F., Beaudoin S., Measures L.N. 2006. Hematology and serum chemistry of harp (Phoca groenlandica) and hooded seals (Cystophora crystata) during the breeding season, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 42(1): 115–132. DOI: 10.7589/0090-3558-42.1.115
Bossart G.D., Reidarson T.H., Dierauf L.A., Duffeld D.A. 2001. Clinical pathology. In: L.A. Dierauf, F.V.D. Gulland (Eds.): CRC Handbook of marine mammal medicine. 2nd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press. P. 383–486.
Boyd J.W. 1984. The interpretation of serum biochemistry test results in domestic animals. Veterinary Clinical Pathology 13(2): 7–14. DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-165x.1984.tb00833.x
Butenko Z.A., Gluzman D.F., Zak K.P., Filatova R.S., Shlyakhovenko V.A. 1974. Cytochemistry and electron microscopy of blood cells and blood-forming organs. Kiev: Naukova Dumka. 248 p. [In Russian]
Danilova L.A. (Ed.). 2003. Handbook of laboratory research methods. St. Petersburg: Piter. 736 p. [In Russian]
Dover S.D., McBain D.V.M., Little K. 1993. Serum alkaline phosphatase as an indicator of nutritional status in cetaceans. Proceedings of the International Association of Aquatic Animal Medicine 24: 44.
Engelhardt F.R. 1979. Haematology and plasma chemistry of captive pinnipeds and cetaceans. Aquatic Mammals 7(1): 11–20.
Ermolina S.A., Sozinov V.A. 2005. Changes in serum iron and hemoglobin of young standard mink in the age dynamics. In: Physiological basis for increasing the productivity of mammals introduced into zooculture: Materials of the international symposium (Petrozavodsk, September 2005). Petrozavodsk. P. 64–66. [In Russian]
Erokhina I.A. 2009. Metabolic characteristics of the gray seal (Halichoerus grypus Fabricius, 1791) in early postnatal development. Doklady Biological Sciences 424(1): 42–44. DOI: 10.1134/S001249660901013X
Fair P.A., Becker P.R. 2000. Review of stress in marine mammals. Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Stress and Recovery 7(4): 335–354. DOI: 10.1023/A:1009968113079
Geraci J.R., Smith T.G. 1975. Functional hematology of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) in the Canadian arctic. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 32(12): 2559–2564. DOI: 10.1139/f75-302
Goertz C.E.C., Reichmuth C., Thometz N.M., Ziel H., Boveng P. 2019. Comparative health assessments of Alaskan ice seals. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 6: 4. DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00004
James S.P. 1988. Large granular lymphocytes in the liver. Hepatology 8(2): 420–421. DOI: 10.1002/hep.1840080239
Johannessen O.M., Miles M.W. 2011. Critical vulnerabilities of marine and sea ice-based ecosystems in the high Arctic. Regional Environmental Change 11(Suppl.1): S239–S248. DOI: 10.1007/s10113-010-0186-5
Kamyshnikov V.S. 2000. Handbook of clinical and biochemical laboratory diagnostics. Vol. 2. Minsk: Belarus. 463 p. [In Russian]
Kavtsevich N.N. 2003. Features of the cellular composition of the blood of harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus) of different ages. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal 82(6): 758–761. [In Russian]
Kavtsevich N.N., Minzyuk T.V. 2011. Cellular composition of the blood of gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) of different ages. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal 90(9): 1122–1126. [In Russian]
Kavtsevich N.N., Erokhina I.A. 2014. Atlantic gray seal. In: N.A. Konstantinova, A.S. Koryakin, O.A. Makarova, V.V. Bianki (Eds.): Red Data Book of the Murmansk region. 2nd ed. Kemerovo: Asia-print. P. 566–567. [In Russian]
Kavtsevich N.N., Minzyuk T.V., Erokhina I.A. 2015. Ecological and physiological parameters of seals of different ages. Herald of the Kola Scientific Center of RAS 2(21): 59–69. [In Russian]
Kocherga M.N. 2012. Urgency of definition of physiological parameters of rare species of birds: the case of oriental white stork (Ciconia boyciana Swinhoe, 1873). Actual Questions of Veterinary Biology 2(14): 3–10. [In Russian]
Kondakov A.A., Kavtsevich N.N., Oleynikov E.P. 2015. The minimum number of gray seals (Halichoerus grypus Fabricius, 1791) in the breeding colonies of the Aynov Islands. In: Arctic marine environmental management in the XXI century – modern balance of traditions and innovations (for the 80th anniversary of MMBI KSC RAS): Abstracts of international conference (Murmansk, 1–3 April 2015). Apatity: KRC RAS. P. 109–110. [In Russian]
Kovyrshina T.B., Rudneva I.I. 2018. The Response of Blood Biomarkers of the Round Goby Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814) (Perciformes: Gobiidae) to Chronic Coastal Pollution in the Sea of Azov. Russian Journal of Marine Biology 44(4): 328–333. DOI: 10.1134/S1063074018040065
Letsky V.B. 1973. Cytochemical studies of leukocytes (guidelines). Leningrad: Meditsina. 33 p. [In Russian]
Lyubin N.A., Konova L.B. 2005. Guidelines for the determination and removal of hemograms in agricultural and laboratory animals with pathologies. Ulyanovsk: State Agricultural Academy. 113 p. [In Russian]
Marine mammals of the Russian Arctic and the Far East: atlas. Moscow: Arctic Scientific Centre, 2017. 311 p. [In Russian]
Martinez-Porchas M., Hernandez-Rodriguez M., Herzka A.Z., Gutierrez-Millan L.E. 2011. Evaluation of the physiological status of the pacific sardine, Sardinops sagax caerullus, acclimated to different thermal regimes based on selected blood parameters. Environmental Biology of Fishes 91: 39–49. DOI: 10.1007/S10641-010-9757-Z
Minzyuk T.V., Kavtsevich N.N., Svetochev V.N. 2015. New data on the blood cell composition of bearded seal. Doklady Biological Sciences 462(1): 152–154. DOI: 10.1134/S0012496615030138
Pigarevsky V.E. 1978. Granular leukocytes and their properties. Moscow: Meditsina. 128 p. [In Russian]
Rigan V.D., Sanders T.G., Denikola D.B. 2000. Atlas of veterinary hematology. Moscow: «Aquarium LTD». 135 p. [In Russian]
Rogovin V.V., Muravyov R.A., Piruzyan L.A. 1983. Peroxidazosomes – 83. Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk. Seriya Biologicheskaya 5: 645–666. [In Russian]
Romanova E.B., Solomaykin E.I., Bakiev A.G., Gorelov R.A. 2018. The leukocyte blood composition of Elaphe dione (Serpentes: Colubridae) in Orenburg State Nature Reserve (Russia). Nature Conservation Research 3(Suppl.1): 28–35. DOI: 10.24189/ncr.2018.033 [In Russian]
Rosly I.M., Vodolazhskaya M.G. 2010. Rules for reading biochemical analysis: a guide for the doctor. Moscow: Medical Information Agency. 96 p. [In Russian]
Rozhnov V.V. 2015. Large mammals as indicator species of the state of ecosystems in the Russian Arctic. In: Scientific and technical problems of the development of the Arctic. Moscow: Nauka. P. 286–297. [In Russian]
Rudneva-Titova I.I. 1997. Formation of the antioxidant system in the early ontogenesis of marine animals. Advances in Modern Biology 117(3): 390–397. [In Russian]
Russkova O.V., Sokolov A.V., Naidenko S.V., Shpak O.V., Glazov D.M., Mukhametov L.M., Rozhnov V.V. 2010. Hematological, biochemical and hormonal data as indicators of the physiological state of belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) of the Amur summer cluster in the Okhotsk Sea. In: Marine mammals of Holarctic: Proceedings of the VI International conference (Kaliningrad, 11–15 October 2010). Kaliningrad: Kapros. P. 493–497. [In Russian]
Smirnova L.G., Kost E.A. (Eds.). 1960. Guide to Clinical Laboratory Research. Moscow: Medgiz. 964 p. [In Russian]
Smiyan Yu.P. (Eds.). 1987. Handbook of the specialist of the veterinary laboratory. Kiev: Urozhay. 368 p. [In Russian]
Tits N. (Ed.). 1997. Encyclopedia of clinical laboratory tests. Moscow: Labinform. 960 p. [In Russian]
Urbakh V.Yu. 1963. Mathematical statistics for biologists and physicians. Moscow: Publishing House of AS USSR. 323 p. [In Russian]
Uzenbaeva L.B., Ilyina T.N., Korosov S.A., Unzhakov A.R., Danilov P.I., Belkin V.V., Yakimova A.E., Ilyukha V.A. 2010. Evaluation of mammals physiological status as constituent part of the ecological monitoring in European North of Russia. Bulletin of Game Management 7(2): 354–357. [In Russian]
Zak K.P., Butenko A.K. 1985. «Large granular lymphocytes» – a new concept in hematology and immunology. Hematology and Transfusiology 9: 45–53. [In Russian]
Zaychik A.Sh., Churilov L.P. 2002. Mechanisms of development of diseases and syndromes. St. Petersburg: ELBI-SPb. 507 p. [In Russian]