LEUKOCYTE PROFILE, MICRONUCLEUS AND ERYTHROCITARY NUCLEAR PROTRUSIONS IN SPARROWS (Centronyx bairdii and Ammodramus savannarum) OF THE CHIHUAHUENSE DESERT DURING THE WINTER

Abstract

The populations of Baird’s (Centronyx bairdii) and grasshopper (Ammodramus savannarum) sparrows are decreasing as a consequence of the loss of their natural habitat and the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals in farming areas bordering their breeding habitat. Although these two species have been studied from an ecological perspective, there is no research on the presence of abnormalities in their leukocyte and erythrocytes counts, both of them health biomarkers. The objective of this work was to determine the spontaneous rate of polychromatic erythrocytes (PCE), micronucleated erythrocytes (MNE), and nuclear buds (NBs), as well as the leucocyte differential and the heterophil/lymphocyte ratio (H:L), in order to establish the health status of these sparrow species that live in Cuchillas de la Zarca, Durango, Mexico. With this aim, we captured 20 organisms of each species with mist nets. We carried two blood smears per individual which we analysed under the microscope (100x). There were no statistically significant differences among species regarding the frequencies of the various biomarkers, which had similar values to those established for other healthy bird species. Therefore, there is no evidence of genomic instability, nor of genotoxic or cytotoxic effects. Likewise, we detected no alterations in the immune system, based on the leukocyte differential and the H:L ratio evaluation. This is the first study that establishes reference values for these biomarkers among these particular species of sparrows.