Table 4.
Comparisons of iron indices (mean ± 1 SD) in bottlenose dolphins by population and age category
| Charleston | Indian River | Navy | Six Flags | Kruskal–Wallis P | |
| Juveniles (female, < 7 y; male, < 10 y) | |||||
| Number of dolphins | 7 | 17 | 15 | 3 | — |
| Iron (μg/dL) | 112 ± 67 | 94 ± 35 | 227 ± 94a | 185 ± 21a | <0.001 |
| Total iron-binding capacity (μg/dL) | 255 ± 62 | 274 ± 81 | 389 ± 98a | 292 ± 29 | 0.002 |
| Ferritin (ng/dL) | 195 ± 230 | 404 ± 550 | 2000 ± 4343a | 1564 ± 1107a | 0.012 |
| Transferrin saturation (%) | 45 ± 23 | 35 ± 9 | 60 ± 20a | 64 ± 12a | 0.002 |
| Haptoglobin (mg/dL) | 25 ± 9 | 22 ± 12 | 24 ± 17 | 20 ± 16 | 0.59 |
| Ceruloplasmin (mg/dL) | 7 ± 1 | 16 ± 13 | 27 ± 8a | 18 ± 8 | 0.003 |
| Adults (female, 7-24 y; male, 10-24 y) | |||||
| Number of dolphins | 11 | 22 | 60 | 6 | — |
| Iron (μg/dL) | 95 ± 28 | 79 ± 28 | 249 ± 142a | 214 ± 46a | <0.001 |
| Total iron-binding capacity (μg/dL) | 197 ± 23 | 216 ± 27 | 346 ± 120a | 253 ± 29 | <0.001 |
| Ferritin (ng/dL) | 212 ± 100 | 227 ± 234 | 7535 ± 12,616a | 10,940 ± 6416a | <0.001 |
| Transferrin saturation (%) | 49 ± 19 | 36 ± 10 | 68 ± 22a | 84 ± 13* | <0.001 |
| Haptoglobin (mg/dL) | 20 ± 11 | 17 ± 6 | 29 ± 25a | 13 ± 6 | 0.002 |
| Ceruloplasmin (mg/dL) | 14 ± 67 | 18 ± 6 | 27 ± 12a | 17 ± 2 | <0.001 |
a
Value significantly higher than others in the same row.