Abstract
Blood biochemistry parameters were examined in the oyster toadfish Opsanus tau from the late spring through early fall for two consecutive seasons to establish baseline values and evaluate whether any of the parameters could be used as predictors of disease and mortality in this important experimental organism. The blood plasma was analyzed for alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, glutamic oxalacetic transaminase, glutamic pyruvic transaminase, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), calcium, cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid, creatine, bilirubin, total protein, and glucose. Elevated levels of BUN (28.5 ± 4.1 mg/ dL) and depressed levels of cholesterol (83.0 ± 6.3 mg/ dL) were strongly correlated with disease and subsequent death in the oyster toadfish population and thus may serve as useful indices by which to exclude fish from experimental studies.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 170-176 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Aquatic Animal Health |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2005 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors thank R. Silver for assisting with the spectrophotometer measurements, the University of Pennsylvania’s Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Medicine and Pathology for allowing use of the Dade Analyst and conducting the necropsies, B. Mebane and G. Till for assisting with tank construction, and J. Hanley for assistance with water quality. T. Hrabik provided valuable help with the statistical analysis. Support was provided by the Marine Models in Biological Research Program and National Institutes of Health grant DC01837.