title: Does altitudinal difference modulate the respiratory properties in subterranean rodents' (Cryptomys hottentotus mahali) blood?
abstract: Do burrowing mammals that naturally experience hypoxic and hypercapnic conditions exhibit modifications to the blood chemistry at high altitudes? We investigated two populations of the Lesotho mole-rat living at different altitudes in the highlands of the Drakensberg. There was no significant difference between the specimens from 3200 and 1600 m in mean red blood cell count (RCC=8.9x10(6)+/-1.6x10(6) vs. 8.4x10(6)+/-0.95x10(6) mm3, respectively) or packed red cell volumes (haematocrit=0.51+/-0.06 vs. 0.49+/-0.05, respectively). However, blood haemoglobin (Hb) concentration was significantly higher in the high altitude than in the low-altitude specimens (178+/-9 vs. 160+/-16 g/l). The oxygen equilibrium curves of thawed whole blood showed no displacement to the left in the animals sampled at the higher elevation. The data indicate that the oxygen-transporting properties of mole-rat blood do not change markedly with increased elevation and that burrowing mammals are a priori hypoxia-adapted.
authors.affiliation: Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
authors.forename: Marna S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Broekman
authors.forename: Nigel C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Craig R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Roy E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Weber
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D000818:Animals; D004906:Erythrocyte Count / Q000379:methods; D006400:Hematocrit / Q000379:methods; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D019577:Mole Rats / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D012119:Respiration
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins; D010100:Oxygen