Dinámica poblacional, comportamiento, estado de salud e impactos antrópicos en lobos marinos de las Islas San Cristóbal hematología del lobo marino (Zalophus wollebaeki) en dos colonias de las isla San Cristóbal, Galápagos

摘要

Hematology is a very useful tool that allows us to have an overview of the overall health of animals and let us diagnose various diseases, also it provides evidence on the immune status of individuals (Dierauf and Gulland, 2001; Cowell et al 2009). The knowledge of Galapagos sea lion Zalophus wollebaeki health status and the establishment of blood parameters values could be helpful as the Galapagos sea lion acts as a sentinel species or coastal ecosystems bioindicator (Alava and Salazar, 2006).The study was conducted in two colonies of Z. wollebaeki in San Cristobal island, a high anthropogenic activity colony: Shipwreck Bay (0 ° 53'44.27 "S 89 ° 36'33.48" O) and a colony with minimal human impact: Punta Pitt (0 ° 42'36.88 "S 89° 15'12.02" O).A total of 60 blood samples from juveniles were collected for hematological analysis, 33 samples corresponded to sea lions located at Shipwreck Bay, at different beaches (18 individuals from Zona Naval and Playa de los Marinos, 10 individuals from Playa Mann and 5 individuals from Punta Carola) and 27 samples were taken from sea lions located in Punta Pitt. Samples were collected between the 3rd and 13th of July, 2014.The study demonstrate significant differences for various blood parameters and standard length (EL) between individuals of the colony of Shipwreck Bay (greater human impact) and the colony of Punta Pitt (less anthropogenic intervention), this suggests that the human presence and its activities influence the size and health of Z. wollebaeki.