Electrophoretic Study of Blood Proteins of Some Procellariiform Birds

Abstract

LI•r•rLE. is known of the comparative histology or biochemistry of the blood of birds. The application of biochemical techniques to the study of avian systematics, a development of the last 20. years, is contributing an increasing amount to. our knowledge in this field. Of major significance in introducing this type of investigation to ornithologists were the reports by Bain and Deutsch (1947) and McCabe and Deutsch (1952) on egg- white proteins. Sibley (1960), Gysels (1962, 1963), and Gysels and Rabaey (1962) emphasized and expanded this method of approach'. The blood proteins of but few species of birds have been studied with a view to, aiding in the determination of phylogenetic relationships. Presented here are the results of electrophoretic analyses of the blood proteins of certain species of the order Procellariiformes. An effort has been made to ascertain the biochemical affinities of various members of the order.