title: Relationship between plasma iron concentration and gastric pH in captive adult bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the correlation between plasma iron concentrations and gastric pH in a population of captive Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).
  
  
  METHODS
  6 adult female dolphins that ranged from 16 to 30 years of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood and gastric samples were collected from each dolphin to allow measurement of plasma iron concentrations and gastric pH, respectively. Samples were collected each month for 12 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Within each dolphin, plasma iron concentrations and gastric pH did not differ significantly over time. There was a strong negative correlation (r = -0.85) between plasma iron concentration and gastric pH, which suggested that dolphins with a lower gastric pH had a higher plasma iron concentration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Analysis of results reported here suggested that gastric pH may play an important role in iron absorption in dolphins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Moby A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Solangi
authors.forename: Connie L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Clemons-Chevis
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vanderpool
authors.forename: Marci
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romagnoli
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoffland
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jowett
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D050681:Bottle-Nosed Dolphin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005744:Gastric Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D006486:Hemosiderosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D007501:Iron