Hematology and serum chemistry of female South American fur seals (Arctocephalus australis) from Lobos Island, Uruguay

Abstract

Hematology and serum chemistry are used to diagnose disease in marine mammals incaptivity and in the wild. Clinicopathologic variables are the first step in determiningtreatment and assessing the suitability for rehabilitation and release. The South Americanfur seal (SAFS; Arctocephalus australis) occurs along the Pacific coast from southern Peruto Cape Horn and northward to southern Brazil on the Atlantic coast. The goal of this studywas to evaluate hematologic, clinical chemistry, and physical parameters of eight femaleSAFS from coastal Uruguay. Segmented neutrophils were the major leukocytes followedby lymphocytes. The mean aspartate aminotransferase (AST) was similar to that reportedpreviously for females and pups, except two females that showed higher levels. Alanineaminotransferase (ALT) in SAFS from our study was markedly higher than values reportedfor Chilean SAFS. AST and ALT values found could be related to liver damage. ALPlevels in the females were within the range reported previously. Creatinine was highercompared with females and pups from Chile. The differences found in hematology andserum chemistry between Chilean and Uruguayan populations may also be related todifferences in physiological and immune status. Basophils, myelocytes, metamyelocytes,lymphocyte plasma cells, and immature or pathologic forms were not observed. No unusualvalues were observed for red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), and platelets.Glucose, uricemia, creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Na, Cl, Ca, P and Klevels are the first report for the species. These are the first results on the hemotology andblood chemistry of otherwise wild SAFS from Isla de Lobos, which can be used to assessthe health of wild populations and during rehabilitation.