Table 1 Mass, hematology, and blood chemistries including liver enzymes from the two Weddell seals. This provides temporal comparison in physiological attributes across the austral summer. Weddell seal 1 was first handled early in the summer as a skip-breeder; Weddell seal 2 was handled across lactation. Both seals were recaptured approximately 2 months later, when anesthesia-related complications arose and the parasitic mass was found. Reference ranges (with notation regarding time of year) are provided for comparison. Data are presented as ranges or mean ± standard deviation

Mass (kg)

390

334

488

321

368

190–554 (Oct-Feb; [33])

Hematocrit (%)

65

57.5

58.5

58.3

56.8

43-72.3 (Oct-Feb; [33])

Hemoglobin (g dL^− 1 whole blood)

23.9

21.6

20.6

19.8

21.9

18.1–31.6 (Oct-Feb; [33])

Red Blood Cell (x10⁶ per mL)

3.85

4.04

3.47

2.86

3.03

2.68–5.23 (Oct-Feb; [33])

White Blood Cell (x10³ per mL)

---

---

8.00

13.85

7.88

5.88–17.6 (Oct-Feb; Rzucidlo unpubl)

Cortisol (µg dL^− 1)

124.5

162.7

172.3

154.1

173.4

71.9-236.6 (Oct-Feb; Rzucidlo unpubl)

L-Amino Acids (nmol µL^− 1)

4.07

4.55

2.79

2.50

5.03

1.71–8.61 (Oct-Feb; Rzucidlo unpubl)

Non-esterified Fatty Acids (µM)

488.9

559.9

288.4

972.1

2167.4

178.1-2227.1 (Oct-Feb; Rzucidlo unpubl)

Insulin (ng mL^− 1)

0.073

0.090

0.086

0.045

0.070

0.039–0.551 (Oct-Feb; Rzucidlo unpubl)

Glucose (mg dL^− 1)

63

76

98

78

90

56–180 (Oct-Dec; [34]); 99 ± 18 (Dec-Jan; [35])

Total Protein (g dL^− 1)

8.6

8.0

8.7

7.4

8.1

8.0-11.8 (Oct-Dec; [34]); 7.4 ± 0.8 (Dec-Jan; [35])

Albumin (g dL^− 1)

2.9

3.0

3.7

3.3

3.1

3.2–6.1 (Oct-Dec; [34]); 2.5 ± 0.3 (Dec-Jan; [35])

Globulin (calculated) (g dL^− 1)

5.7

5.0

5.0

4.1

5

3.2–6.5 (Oct-Dec; [34]); 4.9 ± 0.6 (Dec-Jan; [35])

Urea nitrogen (mg dL^− 1)

19

34

12

9

39

11–43 (Oct-Dec; [34]); 22 ± 6.7 (Dec-Jan; [35])

Creatinine (mg dL^− 1)

1.6

0.9

1.2

1.2

0.7

1.3-2.0 (Oct-Dec; [34]); 1.4 ± 0.3 (Dec-Jan; [35])

Total Bilirubin (mg dL^− 1)

0.4

0.2

0.9

1.2

< 0.2

0.4–0.8 (Oct-Dec; [34]); 0.6 ± 0.3 (Dec-Jan; [35])

Serum iron (µg dL^− 1)

53.4

129.8

208.8

134.0

35.4

23.2-441.1 (Oct-Feb [33])

Alanine transaminase P5P (U L^− 1)

61

49

29

13

38

46.4 ± 26.4 (Dec-Jan; [35])

Alkaline phosphatase (U L^− 1)

256

149

296

752

375

480.8 ± 302.6 (Dec-Jan; [35])

Gamma glutamyltransferase (U L^− 1)

< 3

< 3

5

4

8

7.8 ± 15.1 (Dec-Jan; [35])

Aspartate transaminase P5P (U L^− 1)

61

44

58

30

47

46.4 ± 26.4 (Dec-Jan; [35])

Cholesterol (mg dL^− 1)

197

180

389

374

296

368 ± 97 (Dec-Jan; [35])

Potassium (mmol L^− 1)

4.3

3.8

3.9

4

3.7

3.6–5.8 (Oct-Dec; [34]); 5.1 ± 0.5 (Dec-Jan; [35])

Magnesium (mg dL^− 1)

2.2

2.0

1.5

1.8

2.3

3.4–6.3 (Jan-Feb; [36])

Selenium (ppm)

1.61

1.64

1.12

1.14

1.37

0.52–2.26; *Harbor seal [37]