Acta Scientific Veterinary Sciences (ISSN: 2582-3183)

Research Article Volume 6 Issue 2

Urinalysis Reference Intervals between Rough-Toothed Dolphins (Steno bredanensis) and Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Kept Under Human Care

Cristina V Valenzuela-Venegas1, Lesly J Cabrias-Contreras1, Julie M Cavin2, Bert Rivera-Marchand3, Roberto Sánchez-Okrucky4 and Antonio A Mignucci-Giannoni1,5*

1 Caribbean Manatee Conservation Center, Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
2Gulf World Marine Park, Panama City Beach, Florida, USA
3Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
4The Dolphin Company, Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
5Center for Conservation Medicine and Ecosystem Health, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, St. Kitts

*Corresponding Author: Antonio A Mignucci-Giannoni, Caribbean Manatee Conservation Center, Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Bayamón, Puerto Rico and Center for Conservation Medicine and Ecosystem Health, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, St. Kitts.

Received: December 19, 2023 Published: January 16, 2024

Abstract

Rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) are a little-known species, distinguished by their particular rostrum. At the time of the study, only six individuals were under human care in North America at the Gulf World Marine Park without any urinalysis reference. This facility has a pod of sixteen common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Urinalysis is a rapid, easy, and inexpensive laboratory tool that presents essential information to veterinarians about a patient’s overall health status. Also, it is possible to diagnose health diseases before showing symptoms. Urine samples from both species were collected and analyzed to determine baseline parameters in the rough-toothed dolphins for the first time and compare them with those of the common bottlenose dolphins. Urinalysis was performed by voluntary voided under medical operant conditions and analyzed for all 22 dolphins for gross, chemical, and microscopic findings. The values obtained were used to establish the standard parameters for urinalysis to help veterinarians and dolphin facilities to perform better daily physical routine examinations of rough-toothed dolphins. In addition, a comparison between rough-toothed and common bottlenose dolphins showed no significant differences in urine values. These results help to understand the similarity between these two species in terms of renal function and to develop better care procedures in rescue and rehabilitation facilities that maintain dolphins under human care.

Keywords: Urinalysis; Clinical diagnosis; Rough-toothed dolphins; Common bottlenose dolphins

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Citation

Citation: Cristina V. Valenzuela-Vegegas., et al. “Urinalysis Reference Intervals between Rough-Toothed Dolphins (Steno bredanensis) and Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Kept Under Human Care".Acta Scientific Veterinary Sciences 6.2 (2024): 67-78.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2024 Antonio A Mignucci-Giannoni., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.




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