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Quantitative Analysis of Thyroid Hormone Levels in the Caspian Seal Pusa caspica (Gmelin, 1788)

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Abstract

The levels of thyroid hormones (total thyroxine, free thyroxine, and total triiodothyronine) in the blood serum of the Caspian seal Pusa caspica are reported for the first time. The serum levels of thyroid hormones in Caspian seal were comparable to those in the harbor seal Phoca vitulina. An increased plasma level of total thyroxine was found in seals during the molting season. A tendency toward an increase in free thyroxine levels was observed in adult females in the autumn. In contrast to the data for the harbor seal, in our research there were only two cases when measured levels of thyroid hormones in the blood serum of Caspian seals dropped below the threshold.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank the Caspian Environment Program, the Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species (DEFRA, the UK Government), and the Agip/North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement (NCSPSA) Venture for financial support to conduct this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microbiology and Virology, 050010, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    A. I. Kydyrmanov, K. O. Karamendin & E. T. Kassymbekov

  2. Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom

    L. Dmitrieva & S. Goodman

Authors
  1. A. I. Kydyrmanov
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  2. K. O. Karamendin
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  3. E. T. Kassymbekov
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  4. L. Dmitrieva
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  5. S. Goodman
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Correspondence to A. I. Kydyrmanov.

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Kydyrmanov, A.I., Karamendin, K.O., Kassymbekov, E.T. et al. Quantitative Analysis of Thyroid Hormone Levels in the Caspian Seal Pusa caspica (Gmelin, 1788). Russ J Mar Biol 44, 390–393 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063074018050073

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063074018050073

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