Project: Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the hematological profile of the river turtle Phrynops hilarii (Reptilia: Testudine) in the southern region of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina.
Linked Target: Contribution to the health knowledge of freshwater turtles (Reptilia, Testudines) present in the watercourses of the region.
General description: Wetlands are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet; the numerous ecosystem services that they provide to man make them indispensable. They are considered cradles of biological diversity and sources of water and primary productivity on which countless species depend for their subsistence, including the human species. However, they are also fragile and vulnerable ecosystems. In recent decades there has been a continuous loss and degradation of these as a result of human activity, which leads to changes in their composition and sedimentation, which can cause damage to the health of people, domestic animals and wild species that depend on them. those habitats. The natural populations of freshwater turtles are threatened by multiple causes of anthropic origin that cause the rarefaction of species (petism, fires, destruction and fragmentation of the habitat and persistent organic pollutants (POPs)) as well as by infectious and/or parasitic causes. It is known that the presence of heavy metals and organochlorine compounds in aquatic ecosystems represent a significant threat to the health of the organisms that inhabit them, since they are elements that are little or not biodegradable and tend to accumulate in different tissues. Continental freshwater turtles are considered top predators, being able to accumulate high concentrations of toxins through the consumption of their prey. In wildlife, the symptoms, as an expression of a functional abnormality in a sick animal, are difficult to perceive. In this sense, the hematological and biochemical parameters of the blood operate as useful tools in the field of diagnostic medicine, being used for the health evaluation of natural populations. They are particularly advantageous to be able to determine possible pathologies of chelonians, since these species rarely show clinical signs of disease and are difficult to explore due to the presence of the shell, in addition to being especially sensitive to environmental variations. The differential leukocyte count and the morphological changes of erythrocytes provide markers that favor specific diagnoses to determine the state of health and aspects of metabolism and physiology. On the other hand, evidence of genetic damage is an effective biomarker, used as an early warning to assess ecological risk. So; In wild species, micronucleus (MN) analysis is a widely used method as a biomarker of genotoxicity.
Related
Director: María Florencia David.
Members: Claudia Nigro; Cintia Manoni; María Carla Cortese and Alejandro Fallabrino.
Spaces/Institutions/Academic Units: Faculty of Veterinary Sciences (UNR) and Karumbé Sea Turtle Center of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay.
Contact
E-Mail: davidmaflorencia@fcv.unr.edu.ar
Networks:
Facebook @anpflorindodonatiunr - @catedralibrefaunasilvestre - @silvestresnosonmascota