Table 5.
Hematologic and serum chemistry analytes (marginal mean, lower 95% confidence limit − higher 95% confidence limit) from 794 blood samples of clinically healthy early adult killer whales (Orcinus orca, 11 to <21 years old) for which seasonal differences were detected (N = 23)
| Blood analyte | Spring | Summer | Fall | Winter | Šidák groups (P < 0.01) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hematology | |||||
| Hb (g/dL) | 14.7 (14.5‐14.9) | 14.9 (14.8‐15.1) | 14.8 (14.7‐15.0) | 14.7 (14.5‐14.9) | W & Sp & F < S |
| HCT (%) | 43.2 (42.7‐43.7) | 43.8 (43.3‐44.3) | 43.4 (42.9‐43.9) | 43.0 (42.5‐43.5) | W < F & Sp < S |
| RBC (106/μL) | 3.86 (3.77‐3.95) | 3.91 (3.83‐4.00) | 3.89 (3.80‐3.98) | 3.85 (3.76‐3.94) | Sp & W < S & F |
| MCV (fL) | 112.3 (111.1‐113.4) | 112.2 (111.0‐113.3) | 111.9 (110.7‐113.1) | 111.8 (110.7‐113.0) | NSD |
| Retica (%) | 1.36 (1.22‐1.51) | 1.26 (1.12‐1.40) | 1.26 (1.12‐1.40) | 1.39 (1.25‐1.53) | S & F < Sp & W |
| WBC (103/μL) | 5488.2 (5097.2‐5879.3) | 5354.7 (4964.3‐5745.1) | 5321.3 (4929.8‐5712.8) | 5524.6 (5132.6‐5916.6) | F < Sp & W; S < W |
| Abs segs (103/μL) | 4227.4 (3876.2‐4578.5) | 4103.4 (3752.7‐4454.0) | 4078.2 (3726.7‐4429.7) | 4265.7 (3913.7‐4617.6) | F < Sp & W; S < W |
| Serum chemistry | |||||
| Glucose (mg/dL) | 115.4 (112.6‐118.2) | 110.1 (107.3‐112.9) | 114.4 (111.5‐117.2) | 116.2 (113.4‐119.0) | S < Sp & F & W; F<W |
| BUN (mg/dL) | 38.7 (36.4‐41.0) | 40.7 (38.4‐43.0) | 40.0 (37.7‐41.2) | 38.9 (36.6‐41.2) | Sp & W < F < S |
| Creat (mg/dL) | 1.69 (1.59‐1.79) | 1.70 (1.60‐1.80) | 1.67 (1.57‐1.77) | 1.61 (1.51‐1.71) | W < Sp & S & F |
| Cholesterol (mg/dL) | 194.6 (175.5‐213.8) | 201.3 (182‐220.5) | 199.2 (180.1‐218.4) | 196.0 (176.8‐215.2) | Sp & W < S |
| Triglyceridea (mg/dL) | 141.1 (129.1‐153.2) | 145.3 (133.2‐157.3) | 132.6 (120.5‐144.7) | 138.9 (126.8‐151.0) | F < W < S |
| TProtein (g/dL) | 6.92 (6.67‐7.17) | 6.83 (6.59‐7.08) | 6.84 (6.59‐7.09) | 6.93 (6.68‐7.18) | S & F < Sp & W |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 3.61 (3.50‐3.71) | 3.58 (3.47‐3.69) | 3.59 (3.48‐3.69) | 3.62 (3.51‐3.73) | S & F < W |
| Globulin (g/dL) | 3.30 (3.11‐3.50) | 3.23 (3.04‐3.42) | 3.25 (3.06‐3.45) | 3.30 (3.10‐3.49) | NSD |
| ALP (IU/L) | 245.7 (212.2‐279.2) | 247.1 (213.7‐280.5) | 222.8 (189.2‐256.4) | 225.8 (192.1‐259.5) | F & W < Sp & S |
| ALT (IU/L) | 14.33 (11.36‐17.29) | 15.58 (12.62‐18.55) | 16.55 (13.59‐19.53) | 14.91 (11.94‐17.88) | Sp < S < F |
| AST (IU/L) | 40.06 (36.57‐43.54) | 40.66 (37.18‐44.14) | 42.34 (38.86‐45.83) | 41.62 (38.13‐45.11) | Sp & S < F; Sp < W |
| GGT (IU/L) | 9.97 (7.80‐12.15) | 10.38 (8.20‐12.56) | 11.27 (9.09‐13.45) | 10.47 (8.28‐12.65) | Sp & S & W < F |
| Phosphorusa (mg/dL) | 5.55 (5.37‐5.73) | 5.48 (5.31‐5.66) | 5.43 (5.25‐5.61) | 5.51 (5.33‐5.69) | F < Sp |
| Sodium (mEq/L) | 153.9 (153.2‐154.5) | 154.0 (153.3‐154.6) | 154.2 (153.6‐154.9) | 153.9 (153.4‐154.6) | Sp < F |
| Chloride (mEq/L) | 120.2 (119.3‐121.1) | 120.7 (119.8‐121.6) | 120.4 (119.5‐121.3) | 119.9 (119.0‐120.9) | W & Sp < S; W < F |
| CO2 (mEq/L) | 27.61 (26.91‐28.32) | 27.26 (26.56‐28.00) | 27.79 (27.08‐28.49) | 28.10 (27.39‐28.81) | S < F; Sp & S < W |
Hb, hemoglobin concentration; RBC, red blood cell count; MCV, mean corpuscular volume; RDW, red blood cell distribution width; platelet, platelet count; MPV, mean platelet volume; Retic, reticulocyte fraction; WBC, total white blood cell count; Abs segs, segmented neutrophil count; Abs lymphs, absolute lymphocyte count; Abs monos, monocyte count; Abs eos, eosinophil counts; ESR60, erythrocyte sedimentation rate at 60 minutes; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; Creat, creatinine; Tbili, total bilirubin; Tprotein, total protein; globulin, total globulins; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; GGT, gamma‐glutamyl transpeptidase; CK, creatinine kinase; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; Ca, calcium; P, phosphorus; Na, sodium; K, potassium; Cl, chloride; FIB, fibrinogen.
NSD = Post hoc Šidák pairwise comparisons were not significantly different (P < 0.01).
Analytes for which a significant difference was measured between sex were controlled for by sex.