from these initial observations that the 

 comparison of fluorescent banded 

 karyotypes will significantly enhance 

 the potential contribution which kary- 

 otypic analyses can make to the reso- 

 lution of the phyletic interrelationships 

 of the modern Cetacea. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



My thanks to Sea World and Jay 

 Sweeney of the Naval Undersea Cen- 



ter. San Diego. Calif, for making the 

 gray whale samples available to me. 

 The fluorescent technique followed in 

 the preparation of the karyotypes is 

 that of Helga Muller. UCLA Medical 

 Genetics Unit. Los Angeles. Califor- 

 nia. This work was supported by a 

 Mental Retardation Training Grant 

 from the Departments of Psychiatry 

 and Medicine, UCLA Medical School. 

 Los Anceles. California. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Arnason. U. 1972. The role of chromo- 

 siimal rearrangement in mammalian speci- 

 alion with special reference lo Celacea 

 and Pinnipedia. Heredilas 70:113-118. 



Kulu. D. D. 1972. Evolution and cyto- 

 genetics. //; S. H. Ridgway (editor). 

 Mammals of the sea. Biologv and medi- 

 cine, p. 503-.'i27. Charles C. Thomas. 

 SpringHeld. 



Kulu, D. D., I. Veomctt. and R. S. Sparkes. 

 1971. Cytogenetic com.parison of four 

 species of cetaceans. J. Mammal. 52' 

 828-832. 



MFR Paper 1051. From Marine Fisheries Review, Vol. 

 36, No. 4, April 1974. Copies of this paper, in limited 

 numbers, are available from D83. Tectinical Information 

 Division, Environmental Science Information Center, 

 NCAA. VJashington. DC 20235. 



MFR PAPER 1052 



Some Physiological Parameters of the 

 Blood of the California Gray Whale 



WILLIAM G. GILMARTIN, RICHARD W. PIERCE, 

 and GEORGE A. ANTONELIS, JR. 



ABSTRACT 



HciihUcK ril. (I Oo-Hh iliwiniiUinn curve, unci hlood vahinic luivc hccn clctcr- 

 niiiicil fur a Ccilifoniiti .y/'d.v wIhiIc, Eschrichtius robustus. ninl ihc results arc 

 compcircci lo sonic physioloiiical hlood properties of other celncccins. The 

 E. robustus hii\ n hlooil volume that is similar lo values esiiiinited for lari;e 

 whales hy oilier iiiilhors. This is the firsi lime isolopie teehnicjiies have been used 

 to determine a lariie cetacean's hlood volume. 



Large cetaceans do not appear to follow the trend of most lerreslerial mammals 

 when the body size and P50 ure compared. The P50 /'"' the E. robustus was 36.5 mm 

 Hi; and is the hii>hest reported for any cetaccdii. 



The determination of the physio- 

 logical properties of the blood of large 

 cetaceans has been contined primarily 

 to animals that are stranded or have 

 been dead for many hours before 

 blood samples can be drawn. Lenfant 

 (1964) has summarized most of the 

 data available on marine mammals. 

 The capture and maintenance of 

 Gigi. a California gray whale. E\ch- 

 richliiis rohiistiis. has given us the 



opportunity, for the first time, to study 

 a large cetacean under definable con- 

 ditions and to determine its blood 

 volume and oxygen-hemoglobin dis- 

 sociation curves. 



METHODS 



On two separate occasions the 

 whale was given lO/jCi of radioiodin- 



Buth William G. Giliiiartin and 

 George A. Antunelis, Jr. are 

 with the Naval Undersea Center 

 Bio-Svstenis Program, San Di- 

 ego, "CA 92132. Richard W. 

 Pierce is with the Coastal Ma- 

 rine Laboratory, Division of 

 Natural Science, University of 

 California. Santa Cruz, CA 

 95060. 



ated human serum albumin (Risa)'. 

 The labeled compound was adminis- 

 tered to the animal in one of the 

 brachial vessels in the right pectoral 

 tin. Two blood specimens were taken 

 following each determination to insure 

 that mixing was complete and the 

 albumin was not being eliminated 

 rapidly from the serum. In the first 

 test (27 December 197 1 1 blood vol- 

 ume determination samples were taken 

 at 14 and 20 minute intervals and in 

 the second test (6 March 1972) were 

 collected at 10 and IX minute intervals 

 after administration of (he labeled 

 compound. The blood samples re- 

 moved tor counting were taken from 

 one oi the brachial vessels of the left 

 pectoral lin and put into well-hepann- 

 ized tubes. Three ml of the heparinized 

 whole hlood was added to .^ ml of I 



' Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, Illinois. Use 

 of trade names in this publication does not 

 imply endorsement of commercial products 

 by the National fvlanne Fisheries Service. 



28 



