Leukocyte counts in blood smears of Antarctic seals and penguins: a new less time-consuming method

• Published in: Polar Biology
• Main Authors: Menéndez Blázquez, Javier, Soto, Florencia Anabella, Negrete, Javier, Colominas Ciuró, Roger, Marín-Sierra, Andrea, Ricca, Melina, Barbosa, Andrés
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer
• Subjects: CELL COUNTS; CELLULAR IMMUNE RESPONSE; MARINE BIRDS; MARINE MAMMALS; METHODOLOGY; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1; Antarctic; Argentino; Weddell; Argentina; Hydrurga; Antarc*; antarcticus; Chinstrap penguin; Crabeater Seal; Dirección Nacional del Antártico; Elephant Seal; Hydrurga leptonyx; Instituto Antártico Argentino; Leopard Seal; Mirounga leonina; Polar Biology; Southern Elephant Seal; Weddell Seal
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11336/170237

Research on immune response in polar fauna is gaining great importance due to diferent scenarios of environmental change. Total leukocyte counts in blood smears are one of the most widespread practices and provide useful information about the health status of individuals. However, there is no methodological agreement for these analyses. Total leukocyte counts can be performed at×400 magnification in optical microscopy using 10,000 erythrocytes for standardizing. However, counting such number of erythrocytes is costly and time-consuming. Here, we describe a new technique to simplify leukocyte counts in blood smears from Antarctic wildlife based on the number of microscope felds instead of the number of erythrocytes which reduces considerably the time spent. We have counted total leukocytes using both methods in the three penguin species of the genus Pygoscelis—Adélie (P. adeliae), gentoo (P. papua), and chinstrap penguin (P. antarcticus)—and four Antarcticmammal species: crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga), leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii), and southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) for validation. Our results show a high correlation between the total leukocyte counts using 10,000 erythrocytes or 10 microscope felds for standardizing. These results show the reliability of the latter method for counting the total number of leukocytes in diferent species of birds and mammals saving time and efort. Fil: Menéndez Blázquez, Javier. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; España Fil: Soto, Florencia Anabella. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos; Argentina Fil: Negrete, Javier. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Interno y Culto. Dirección Nacional del Antártico. Instituto Antártico Argentino; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; ...