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CHANGES IN THE MALLARD (ANAS PLATYRHYNCHOS) SERUM CHEMISTRY DUE TO AGE, SEX, AND REPRODUCTIVE CONDITION
Citation:
Fairbrother, A., M. Craig, K. Walker, AND D. Laughlin. CHANGES IN THE MALLARD (ANAS PLATYRHYNCHOS) SERUM CHEMISTRY DUE TO AGE, SEX, AND REPRODUCTIVE CONDITION. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-90/023 (NTIS PB90219684).
Description:
Selected serum constituents were analyzed from 50 adult mallards (Anas platyrhnynchos) of both sexes during several stages of reproduction: pre-egg laying, egg-laying, incubating, molting, and postreproductive. imilar assays were conducted on sera from duckling 5 to 58 days old. alues for total protein (TPR), albumin (ALB), glucose (GLU), gammaglutamyl transferase (GGT), calcium (CA), phosphorus (PHOS) and magnesium (MG) differed by sex. hen all data were combined and analyzed for sex-related differences within each reproductive condition separately, all assays except lactate dehydrogenase (LD-L), cholinesterase (CHE), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatinine (CRN) and direct bilirubin (BIDI) differed between sexes during one or more reproductive periods. ach assay showed differences among the various reproductive conditions regardless of gender. he pattern of change differed between sexes. ll assays except ALB, GLU, CA and MG showed age-related changes. ipemia in the sample interfered with all chemistries except TPR, LD-L and CA. esults indicate that when using clinical chemistry as a diagnostic tool in the mallard, age and reproductive condition should be determined in order to compare the data to appropriate control values.