Relationship Between Physiological Status and Serum Constituent Values in Minke Whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)

Abstract

Ten serum constituents in 53 minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) from the southern Antarctic ocean were measured and compared with sex and three physiological states (pregnant, mature/non-pregnant, and immature) in females. Body length and body weight of immature females (n=5) were 7.2 ± 0.6 m and 4.6 ± 1.0 t, respectively. Both body weight and weight of pregnant (n=20: 8.9 ± 0.1 m and 7.6 ± 0.8 t) and mature/non-pregnant (n=6: 8.8 ± 0.2 m and 7.2 ± 0.4 t) females were similar. All males (n=22) were mature, and the testicular weights were 1493.9 ± 109.4 g and 1435.2 ± 87.7 g for left and right, respectively. There were no significant differences in the serum concentrations of the ten constituents between sexes or among the physiological states. Serum glucose values in males (183.5 ± 13.9 mg/dl) were significantly (P<0.05) correlated with body length (r= —0.49) and body weight (r= —0.46). Body length was positively correlated with serum concentrations of sodium (176.3 ± 6.2 mM/L: r=0.51, P<0.05), chloride (124.8 ± 5.8 mM/L: r=0.56, P<0.01) and calcium (15.2 ± 1.6 mg/dl: r=0.53, P<0.05). In females, body weight was positively correlated with the values of total-protein (6.9 ± 0.4 g/dl: r=0.38, P<0.05) and albumin (4.0 ± 0.2 g/dl: r=0.36, P<0.05). Although detailed and clear reasons for the significant correlations were not clarified in the present study, these results provide useful information on the serum chemistry of minks whales and other marine mammals. © 1995, THE SOCIETY FOR REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT. All rights reserved.