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9 September 2019 Pathology and Plasma Biochemistry of Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Males Wintering in the Danish Part of the Western Baltic
Svend Erik Garbus, Anne Kirstine Havnse Krogh, Mona Lykke Jacobsen, Christian Sonne
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Abstract

Blood biochemistry, body mass, and gross pathology of male eiders (Somateria mollissima) wintering in the Inner Danish Waters of the western Baltic Sea (the Great Belt Strait) were assessed in this study. In November 2015, 14 specimens were obtained from the area defined for examination. Of the subject animals captured, 1 had dilated intestines and 2 had granulomas with encapsulated shotgun pellets considered to be chronic in nature. All 14 males were determined to have enteritis along with acanthocephalan and trematode endoparasites. Compared with reference values for captive eiders, plasma values of alanine aminotransferase (93%), total bilirubin (45%), gamma-glutamyl transferase (41%), and alkaline phosphatase (92%) showed significant increases in all 14 male birds. Altogether, the plasma biochemistry and gross pathology findings suggest that up to as many as 20% of the eider males in the Inner Danish Waters of the western Baltic Sea may suffer from liver and bile duct lesions and enteritis. The overall effect on the bird's survival from the results of this investigation is unknown. Therefore, the authors emphasize that more research is required on wintering eiders in the western Baltic to obtain a better understanding of their overall health status during winter, as well as their responses to wound-related lesions associated with gunshot pellets.

© 2019 by the Association of Avian Veterinarians
Svend Erik Garbus, Anne Kirstine Havnse Krogh, Mona Lykke Jacobsen, and Christian Sonne "Pathology and Plasma Biochemistry of Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Males Wintering in the Danish Part of the Western Baltic," Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery 33(3), 302-307, (9 September 2019). https://doi.org/10.1647/2018-379
Published: 9 September 2019
KEYWORDS
Alanine aminotransferase
alkaline phosphatase
ALP
ALT
Avian
Common Eiders
ducks
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