Phenotyping and comparing the immune cell populations of free-ranging Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and dolphins under human care

Table 1 Absolute number of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)

Dolphin #	Blood Sample Volume (ml)		PBMCs (x10⁶)		PBMCs/ml (x10⁶)		Monocytes (%)		Lymphocytes (%)		Granulocytes (%)
Dolphin #	HC	FR	HC	FR	HC	FR	HC	FR	HC	FR	HC	FR
1 (A)	16	12	20.6	25	1.3	2.1	17.5	20.8	64.5	41.4	2.74	22.1
2 (A)	14	20	21.8	93	1.5	4.7	24	12	54	58	4.7	9
3 (A)	15	20	18.6	50	1.5	2.5	13.7	14	31	62	15.6	3
4 (A)	16	15	16.8	20	1.4	1.3	12.5	15.3	66	54.9	2.86	13.4
5 (A)	12	20	17.4	74	1.2	3.7	19.4	11	61.5	64	1.78	5
6 (A)	14	20	12.9	86.5	1	4.3	12	6	72	64	1.35	15
7 (A)	11	20	15.6	75.6	0.9	3.8	12	11	67	54	3.02	11.7
8 (A)	15	20	19.1	37.6	1.3	1.9	14	16.6	66	45.5	1.92	27.3
9 (A)	13	20	16.3	92.4	1.2	4.6	28	7.5	48	47	2.27	24
10 (A)		18		30.3		1.7		17.8		49.3		6.9
11 (A)		15		47.4		3.2		7		60.5		16
12 (A)		20		27		1.4		13.5		68.6		6.7
13 (B)		20		32		1.6		7.7		17		56
14 (B)		20		25.4		1.3		4.8		16		58
15 (B)		20		180		9		1.8		9.5		74.5
16 (B)		20		42		2.1		17.6		20		64
Average	14	18.8	17.7	58.6	1.3	3.1	17	11.5	58.9	45.7	4.3	25.8

This table shows the Ficoll-Hypaque gradient isolated PBMC counts. Dolphins under human care dolphins (HC) from Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta, GA) and free-ranging dolphins (FR) from the Dolphin Health and Environmental Risk Assessment (HERA) Project (Charleston, SC). The first column shows the number of dolphins sampled, dolphins under human care (n = 9) and free-ranging (n = 12 group A and n = 4 group B). The second column shows the total volume of blood collected from each dolphin. The third column shows the total number of PBMCs isolated per blood sample. The fourth column shows the total number of PBMCs isolated per ml of blood. The fifth, sixth, and seventh columns show the percentages of monocyte, lymphocyte, and granulocyte fractions within the isolated PBMCs, respectively. Also the table shows the average for each column

ISSN: 1746-6148