Hematological parameters as health indicators of three species of thrushes in subtropical Andean forests

DI PAULI A; PALACIOS MG; MAGRO J; ARÁOZ R; ZELAYA P; NAZARO MG; FERRO A; MARTÍN E; MORENO RUIZ HOLGADO MM; HERNÁNDEZ M; SÁNCHEZ R; BLENDINGER PG

Puerto Iguazú

Congreso; Ornithological Congress of the Americas; 2017

Hematological evaluation is a useful tool to deduce the health condition of birds. We worked with T. rufiventris (resident), T. nigriceps (latitudinal southern migrant of the Neotropics) and Catharus ustulatus (latitudinal migrant Nearthetic) in the Selva Montana of Yungas, Tucuman, Argentina. From blood smears, we determined hematocrit, differential leukocyte count, and the relationship between heterophilic leukocytes and lymphocytes (H: L) as a hematological measure of stress. For T. rufiventris, T. nigriceps and C. ustulatus, we report respectively: 1) Average hematocrit ± DS: 47.09 % ± 5.10; 46.86 ± 8.15; 46.41± 4.18. 2) Differential count of leukocytes: Lymphocytes (72% ± 13.10, 74.01% ± 12.21, 79.58 ± 13.46), Heterophiles (18% ± 9.89, 18.29 ± 11.71, 9.97 ± 8.13), Eosinophils (8% ± 5.64, 4.15 ± 2.59; 5.41 ± 5.76), Monocytes (2% ± 1.41, 3.54 ± 2.47, 5.04 ± 4.19). 3) H: L average and range: 0.29 (0.03-0.73), 0.28 (0.05-0.73), 0.15 (0.03-0.53). In an interspecific level, the similarity of hematological values doesn?t show a differential investment in the production of blood cells. However, variations in the H: L quotient in the intraspecific level could be indicating a process of chronic illness or stress, affecting the general health of the individual and the population in the case of infectious agents. The results obtained are useful as reference values for the species analyzed in the region to evaluate the health condition of species from the subtropical Andean forests.