Hematological and biochemical blood parameters in captivity Black-chested Buzzard-eagle (Geranoaetus melanoleucus, Vieilliot 1819) from the Metropolitan region, Chile. *Enzo Basso1,2(
[email protected]), Verónica Arnés3, Ángelo Espinoza2, Francisca Izquierdo1. 1
Centro de rehabilitación de aves rapaces (CRAR), Talagante, RM, Chile. 2 Centro de rehabilitación de fauna silvestre, Universidad Austral de Chile (CEREFAS). 3Instituto de Ciencias Clínicas Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile.
Introduction: The Black-chested Buzzard-eagle is a bird of prey species belonging to the order Falconiformes, family Accipitridae. It’s along South America, from Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego inhabiting both slopes the Andes. Birds of prey are at the top of the food chain so that your health is a reflection of the state of ecosystems. The hematology and blood chemistry can be used as monitoring tools in conservation plans, allowing directly assess the health of wild populations. The limitation of these raptors discipline is the lack of information on the ranges of blood and biochemical parameters, the aim of this work is to determine the hematological and biochemical blood for this species. Material and Methods: Blood samples were taken in 31 eagles located in Talagante Raptor Rescue Center (CRAR) in the Metropolitan Region. Venipuncture was performed in the basilic vein were collected 2 ml of blood, 0.5 ml were placed in EDTA tubes for hematology and 1.5 ml tubes with heparin for blood biochemistry. The erythrocyte and leukocyte count was performed in a Neubauer chamber, packed cell volume was determined by the microhematocrit method, hemoglobin was estimated by the method of cyanmethaemoglobin, cell morphology and differential formula was determined by observation of blood smears stained with Hemacolor® staining. Activity of AST, ALT, GGT, CK, FA, Amylase and plasma concentration of glucose, lipids, proteins and uric acid was determined by automatic biochemical analyzer (Wiener Lab®). For the determination of the concentration of Ca, P, Cl and Mg was used atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Thermo Scientific®). For data analysis we used the SAS® 9.2 software using Generalized Linear Models (GLM).
Figure 1. Adult female Black-chested Buzzard-eagle.
Figure 2. Neubauer counting chamber. Er: Erythrocytes, Leu: Leukocyte.
Results: The results for hematology and biochemical blood are presented in Table 1. All birds were found apparently healthy at clinical examination and did not observe the presence of hemoparasites. Discussion: The values of hematology and blood biochemistry were not significantly different when analyzed by sex and weight, with exception of the Packed Cell Volume and hemoglobin concentration. There are no reports of thrombocytes counts, plasma protein concentration or blood minerals in Black-chested Buzzard-eagles. Rodriguez et al. (2010) working with 11 individuals reported lower values of erythrocyte and leukocyte counts, Packed Cell Volume and hemoglobin concentration. Highest activities of ALT, AST, GGT, FA, Amylase and higher concentrations of uric acid were recorded in the present work. This work contributes to the knowledge of the clinical pathology of the Blackchested Buzzard-eagle, can be used as a reference in future research.
Figure 3. Blood from a clinically healthy Black-chested Buzzard-eagle illustrating two leukocytes. Er: Erythrocytes, He: Heterophil, Eo: Eosinophil (Hemacolor® ).
Raptor Research Foundation Annual Conference 2013 III Neotropical Raptor Network Conference WWGBP VII International Conference on Birds of Prey and Owls
