HEALTH STATUS AND BASELINE HEMATOLOGY, BIOCHEMISTRY, AND BLOOD GAS VALUES OF GALAPAGOS SHEARWATERS ( PUFFINUS SUBALARIS ).

The Galapagos shearwater, Puffinus subalaris, is a seabird endemic to the Galapagos archipelago. Hematology, blood chemistry, and general health parameters have not been published for this species. Analyses were run on blood samples drawn from 20 clinically healthy Galapagos shearwaters captured by hand at their nests at Islote Pitt on San Cristobal Island in July 2016. A portable blood analyzer (iSTAT) was used to obtain near immediate field results for pH, pO(2), pCO(2), TCO2, HCO3, hematocrit, hemoglobin, sodium, potassium, chloride, ionized calcium, creatinine, urea nitrogen, anion gap, and glucose. Blood lactate was measured using a portable Lactate Plus analyzer. The reported results provide baseline data that can be used for comparisons among populations and in detecting changes in health status among Galapagos shearwaters.