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Siegal-Willott, Jessica L.; Estrada, Amara; Bonde, Robert K.; Wong, Arthur; Estrada, Daniel J.; Harr, Kendal E.
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2006 |
Electrocardiography in two subspecies of manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris and T. m. manatus).
Jour. Zoo & Wildl. Med. 37(4): 447-453. 2 tabs. 6 figs.
–ABSTRACT: Electrocardiographic (ECG) measurements were recorded in two subspecies of awake, apparently healthy, wild manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris and T. m. manatus) undergoing routine field examinations in Florida and Belize. Six unsedated juveniles (dependent and independent calves) and 6 adults were restrained in ventral recumbency for ECG measurements. Six lead ECGs were recorded for all manatees and the following parameters were determined: heart rate and rhythm; P, QRS, and T wave morphology, amplitude, and duration; and mean electrical axis (MEA). Statistical differences using a t-test for equality of means were determined. No statistical difference was seen based on sex or subspecies of manatees in the above measured criteria. Statistical differences existed in heart rate (P=0.047), P wave duration (P=0.019), PR interval (P=0.025), and MEA (P=0.021) between adult manatees and calves. Our findings revealed normal sinus rhythms, no detectable arrhythmias, prolonged PR and QT intervals, prolonged P wave duration, and small R wave amplitude as compared with Cetacea and other marine mammals. This paper documents the techniques for and baseline recordings of ECGs in juvenile and adult free-living manatees. It also demonstrates that continual assessment of cardiac electrical activity in the awake manatee can be completed and can be used to aid veterinarians and biologists in routine health assessment, during procedures, and in detecting the presence of cardiac disease or dysfunction.
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Wong, Arthur W.; Bonde, Robert K.; Siegal-Willott, Jessica L.; Stamper, M. Andrew; Colee, James; Powell, James Arthur, Jr.; Reid, James P.; Deutsch, Charles J.; Harr, Kendal E.
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2012 |
Monitoring oral temperature, heart rate, and respiration rate of West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) during capture and handling in the field.
Aquatic Mammals 38(1): 1-16. 12 tabs. 5 figs. DOI: 10.1578/AM.38.1.2012.1
–ABSTRACT: West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) are captured, handled, and transported to facilitate conservation, research, and rehabilitation efforts. Monitoring manatee oral temperature (OT), heart rate (HR), and respiration rate (RR) during out-of-water handling can assist efforts to maintain animal well-being and improve medical response to evidence of declining health. To determine effects of capture on manatee vital signs, we monitored OT, HR, and RR continuously for a 50-min period in 38 healthy, awake, juvenile and adult Florida manatees (T. m. latirostris) and 48 similar Antillean manatees (T. m. manatus). We examined creatine kinase (CK), potassium (K+), serum amyloid A (SAA), and lactate values for each animal to assess possible systemic inflammation and muscular trauma. OT range was 29.5 to 36.2° C, HR range was 32 to 88 beats/min, and RR range was 0 to 17 breaths/5 min. Antillean manatees had higher initial OT, HR, and RR than Florida manatees (p < 0.001). As monitoring time progressed, mean differences between the subspecies were no longer significant. High RR over monitoring time was associated with high lactate concentration. Antillean manatees had higher overall lactate values ([mean ± SD] 20.6 ± 7.8 mmol/L) than Florida manatees (13.7 ± 6.7 mmol/L; p < 0.001). We recommend monitoring manatee OT, HR, and RR during capture and handling in the field or in a captive care setting.
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Lanyon, Janet M.; Wong, Arthur; Long, Trevor; Woolford, Lucy
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2015 |
Serum biochemistry reference intervals of live wild dugongs (Dugong dugon) from urban coastal Australia.
Veterinary Clinical Pathology DOI: 10.1111/vcp.12249. Publ. online April 3, 2015.
–ABSTRACT: Background: Little is known about the baseline clinical pathology of the dugong (Dugong dugon), a vulnerable marine mammal found in tropical coastal marine systems. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to collect and determine reference intervals (RI) for select serum biochemical variables for dugongs, and to analyze differences between males and females and different age groups. Methods: Reference intervals were established from 103 apparently healthy, wild-caught dugongs for 31 analytes using a Beckman Coulter AU400 Automated Chemistry Analyzer and an Olympus AU680 Chemistry-Immuno Analyzer. Results: Significant differences (P<.05) in some of the variables were found related to size class, sex, and pregnancy status. Adult dugongs had higher serum sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, glucose, and l-lactate concentrations and higher anion gap, compared to sub-adults. Male dugongs had higher triglyceride and l-lactate concentrations than females. Pregnant females displayed higher l-lactate levels compared to nonpregnant animals. Statistical differences in variables within the population contributed to better understanding of the physiologic differences between cohorts. Some serum biochemistry changes observed in this study here also potentially include some effects of pursuit on dugongs (e.g., higher l-lactate); however, as all dugongs were subject to similar capture and handling, serum biochemistry RI should be considered as normal for captured dugongs. Conclusions: The serum biochemical RI documented here are considered representative of a population of healthy captured dugongs. They provide a baseline for health surveillance of this and other dugong populations.
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Woolford, Lucy; Wong, Arthur; Sneath, Helen L.; Long, Trevor; Boyd, Susan P.; Lanyon, Janet M.
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2015 |
Hematology of dugongs (Dugong dugon) in southern Queensland.
Veterinary Clinical Pathology 44(4): 530–541. 6 tabs. 4 figs. DOI: 10.1111/vcp.12305. Dec. 2015.
–ABSTRACT: Background- Little is known of the hematology of the dugong (Dugong dugon), a secretive and endangered coastal marine mammal.
Objectives- This paper reports hematologic reference intervals (RI) for dugongs and characterizes morphologic, cytochemical, and ultrastructural features of dugong leukocytes.
Methods- Blood was collected from live, apparently healthy dugongs and analyzed using Cell-Dyn 3700 or Sysmex XT-2000iV hematology analyzers. Blood films were subjected to a series of cytochemical stains, and leukocyte structure was examined using transmission electron microscopy.
Results- Reference intervals were established for 14 hematologic variables, total solids, and fibrinogen for 92 dugongs. Significant differences in some variables were found for animal size class, sex, and pregnancy status, and between analyzers. Subadults had higher leukocyte and lymphocyte counts than adults. Males had higher total solids and fibrinogen than females. Pregnant females had higher HCT, MCV, and circulating nucleated RBC, and lower platelet counts than nonpregnant females. Lymphocytes were usually the predominant circulating leukocyte. Heterophil cytoplasmic granules were abundant, fine, round to ovoid, and intensely eosinophilic, and round to ovoid or rod-shaped, and variably electron dense in electron microscopy. Eosinophils contained larger round eosinophilic to orange cytoplasmic granules, which ultrastructurally were bicompartmental with a round eccentric electron-dense core. Cytochemical staining of dugong heterophils suggests biochemical similarity to those of manatees and elephants, and for eosinophils, similarity to those of elephants, ruminants, and equids.
Conclusions- Generation of hematologic RI and characterization of leukocyte morphology improves evaluation of dugong health across this population and serves as a reference for other populations outside southern Queensland.
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Wong, Arthur; Lanyon, Janet M.; McKee, Sara J.; Linedale, Richard; Woolford, Lucy; Long, Trevor; Leggatt, Graham R.
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2018 |
Development of a polyclonal anti-dugong immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody with evaluation of total plasma IgG in a living dugong (Dugong dugon) population.
Veterinary Immunology & Immunopathology 200: 16-25. 2 tabs. 4 figs. DOI: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2018.04.003 Apr. 8, 2018.
–ABSTRACT: Species-specific antibodies (Ab) for the measurement of immunoglobulins (Ig) are valuable tools for determining the humoral immune status of threatened and endangered wildlife species such as dugongs. However, no studies have reported antibody reagents against dugong immunoglobulin. The object of this study was to develop an Ab with specificity for dugong IgG and apply this tool to survey total IgG levels in plasma samples from a live wild population of dugongs in southern Queensland, Australia. Dugong IgG was isolated from plasma by protein A/G column chromatography and a polyclonal antiserum was successfully raised against the dugong IgG through immunization of mice. The anti-dugong antiserum was reactive with dugong serum but not immunoglobulin from other species such as rats and humans. When tested against a panel of dugong plasma samples, relative IgG levels from dugongs (n?=?116) showed biologically relevant relationships with pregnancy status and a principal component of Body Mass Index (BMI)/globulin/fecal glucocorticosteroid (chronic stress) levels combined, which together accounted for 9.2% of the variation in total Ig levels. Together these data suggest that dugongs show variation in total IgG and that this correlates with some physiological parameters of dugong health.
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Wong, Arthur; Lanyon, Janet M.; O'Handley, Ryan; Linedale, Richard; Woolford, Lucy; Long, Trevor; Leggatt, Graham R.
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2019 |
Serum antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in southeast Queensland dugongs.
Mar. Mamm. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12629. Jan. 2020; publ. online June 24, 2019.
–ABSTRACT: The dugong (Dugong dugon) is an herbivorous marine mammal that inhabits tropical inshore waters and thus may be vulnerable to pollutants and terrestrial pathogens as a result of coastal runoff. In this study, serum samples collected from live, wild dugongs (n = 114) in an embayment located on the urbanized southeast Queensland coast of Australia during 2008–2014, were measured for IgG antibody levels specific to Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum. An ELISA used to measure T. gondii tachyzoite antibodies indicated a non-Gaussian distribution of antibody level, with five dugongs identified as high outliers. Mean levels of antibodies specific for T. gondii in dugongs sampled in 2014 were significantly higher than in 2010 (p=.006) and 2011 (p=.009) with an elevation in mean antibody levels after a major 2011 flood event relative to antibody levels prior to the flood (p<.0001). A competitive ELISA to detect N. caninum antibody indicated a normal distribution of antibody with no high outliers. Mean antibody level for N. caninum was highest in 2012 and declined significantly in 2014 (p=.004). This is the first survey of antibodies directed against T. gondii and N. caninum in dugongs and suggests future health monitoring of this species.
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Bibliography and Index of the Sirenia and Desmostylia 