title: REFERENCE AND BASELINE HEMATOCRIT MEASURES FOR THE THREATENED NEW ENGLAND COTTONTAIL (SYLVILAGUS TRANSITIONALIS) AND COMPARISON WITH SYMPATRIC EASTERN COTTONTAIL (SYLVILAGUS FLORIDANUS) RABBITS.
abstract: From June 2014 to June 2015, capillary tube collections of blood were obtained concurrently with ear clips of trapped free-ranging, globally vulnerable New England cottontails (NEC; Sylvilagus transitionalis) and eastern cottontail rabbits (EC; Sylvilagus floridanus) in the Hudson Valley region of New York, United States. Species identification (NEC, EC) and sex (NEC) were determined genetically using a mitochondrial DNA assay and Y chromosome marker, respectively. Hematocrit values were obtained using a microhematocrit centrifuge. We provide the reference values 35.15-49.55 (2.5 and 97.5 percentiles) and 90% confidence intervals (CI) [lower: 33.00, 36.08; upper: 46.95, 51.00], for hematocrit of NEC. The mean hematocrit for NEC was 42.35% (SE = 0.58, n = 47) and a comparative contemporaneous mean in the same area for EC [39.96 (SE = 0.81, n = 26)], which was significantly different from NEC (P = 0.02). There was a significant sex difference for NEC [male: 43.99 (SE = 1.02, n = 28); female: 39.92 (SE = 0.78, n = 19), P < 0.0001], though not for EC.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Gavard
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Cheeseman
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Whipps
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D056727:Endangered Species; D006400:Hematocrit / Q000662:veterinary*; D011817:Rabbits / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D012016:Reference Values; D013045:Species Specificity
keywords: Cottontail; New York; Sylvilagus floridanus; Sylvilagus transitionalis; hematocrit