Study On Husbandry And Veterinary Of Dolphins In Captivity And Establishment Of Chinese Marine Mammal Environmental Specimen Bank

Recently, scientific and public interest in marine mammals has experienced a sharp growth. Porpoises and whales are getting more and more popular in general. Both laboratory research effort and the expanding number of commercial exhibits have increased the number of dolphins held in captivity. On other hand, marine environmental quality is getting worse and worse, marine pollution endangered a lot of marine mammals. This paper included results about more than 5-year experiment concerning diet, caging, behavior, health, husbandry and veterinary of dolphins ( Tursiops glue Dali ) in Qingdao Dolphin Show ; Status resources and the variation trend of marine mammals in China were reviewed; Preliminary study about some dolphin tissue specimen were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and other advanced techniques. The main results were as following: 1 It was the first time to set up the parameter system about water quality for the living of dolphins based on 5-year experiments on 10 dolphins in Qingdao Dolphin Show, the normal salinity range was about 29 32, normal PH range was 7.8 8.2, normal chlorine range was 0.3 1.Smg/L, normal dissolved oxygen range was 5.0 8.8X 10 6 normal ammonia was no more than 1.0 X 10 6 , the number of fecal coliform bacteria was no more than 200MPN. This work provided experienced foundation on monitoring water quality for feeding marine mammals in China. 2 Through experiment on the nutrient contribution in fish diet, the feeding custom of dolphins was concluded, that was in winter, dolphins like to eat fish with high energy, such as houttuyn; in summer, dolphins turn to like fish with low energy, such as ribbonfish and polynemidae. Based on it, scientific feeding system and other relatively husbandry methods were preliminary formed. 3 It was the first time to build records and databank of physiological indicators of dolphins in captivity in China. The data 4 includes altogether 45 kinds indicators, such as blood clinical parameters, blood biochemistry data, body temperature and the respiration frequency, etc. 4 Normal ranges of each physiological indicators were found according to scientific statistical method and its clinical meaning, for example, normal range ofWBC was 3.797X , etc. These normal ranges could indicate what body condition the dolphin was, so, they were very useful for the diagnosis and treatment of dolphin diseases. 5 On base of these normal ranges of physiological indicators , the regular relationship between the value of indicator and disease was found, for example, the decreasing of K concentration and A/G in blood indicated that the blood condensed and the electrolyte metabolization was in disorder; the sharply rise of AST, ALT and DBIL indicated that the liver function of dolphin was in worse condition. Based on it, the veterinary system abou...