Immunobiological status of south sea lions (Otaria flavescens) in captivity

УДК 619.616.98:574.632
DOI 10.33861/2071-8020-2026-1-37-40

Original Empirical Research

Gorkovenko N. E., Serbaev Ya. S.

Abstract. Marine mammals living in captivity face circumstances completely different from their natural habitat. Changes in the quality of the aquatic environment, the usual diet, stresses associated with spectacular events lead to a change in the immune status and microbial background of the body, which in turn affects the health of the animal. The article presents the results of a comprehensive health assessment of South American sea lions kept in an aquarium. The data obtained during the study were analyzed: the results of clinical examination, the composition of the intestinal microbiome, biochemical parameters of blood serum, hematological and immunological parameters of the studied animals. It was shown that despite the absence of opportunistic and pathogenic bacteria in the intestinal microbiome of the studied pinnipeds, dysbiosis was observed in both females. All animals had elevated ALT levels, with AST levels well below the species mean. A low alkaline phosphatase value (1.6 times lower than the physiological norm) and an increased amount of the globulin fraction of the protein were noted in the blood serum of all individuals. It was found that the level of IgA was quite high in all animals, and in one of the females it was higher than in the other two individuals by more than one and a half times. Class G immunoglobulins in male blood were 1.5 times higher than in females. It should be noted that IgA concentrations in the serum of pinnipeds seem to be significantly higher than in terrestrial predatory mammals.

Keywords: oceanarium, sea lion, immunity, hemogram, biochemical parameters, gut microbiome, dysbiosis, phagocytic activity.

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Author affiliation:

Serbaev Yaroslav S., postgraduate student of the Department of Microbiology, Epizootology and Virology of the Kuban State Agrarian University named after I. T. Trubilin; 13, Kalinina st., Krasnodar, 350044; e-mail: yarikkk92@mail.ru.

Responsible for correspondence with the editorial board: Gorkovenko Natalya E., D. Sc. in Biology, docent, professor of the Department of Microbiology, Epizootology and Virology of the Kuban State Agrarian University named after I. T. Trubilin; 13, Kalinina st., Krasnodar, 350044; e-mail: gorkovenko.n@kubsau.ru.

Authors’ Contribution:

Gorkovenko N.E.: conceptualization, methodology, data curation, writing – review and editing.

Serbaev Ya.S.: investigation, validation, visualization, writing – original draft preparation.

Conflict of Interest Statement: the authors declare no conflict of interest.