Oxygen transport properties in the starling, Sturnus vulgaris L

1. 1. Several hematological parameters related to respiratory function of blood (blood volume, hemoglobin, hematocrit, erythrocyte number, P 50, Bohr effect, organic phosphates) plus the myoglobin concentrations of different muscles were analyzed in starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris L.) during their fall migration and winter stay in north-east Spain (Delta del Ebro, Tarragona). 2. 2. The classical hematological values were: Hc = 45.2–47.3%; Hb = 14.2–16.3 g%; erythrocyte number = 4.42–4.59 · 10 6; reticulocytes = 2.6–5.7%; MCM = 29.7–34.2 μμg; MCHC = 30.1–34.4%; MCV = 100.7–110.9 μm 3. No trend seemed evident in these values in relation to the migratory process. 3. 3. The mean blood volume was 16.95 ± 2.5 ml/100 g b.w., and the erythrocyte volume was 6.95 ± 1.41 ml/100 g b. w. The P 50 was 38.1 ± 4.56 mmHg and the Bohr effect— 0.472 ± 0.04; the oxygen capacity was 19.84 ± 3.35 ml O 2 %. 4. 4. The intraerythrocytic phosphates levels were: inositol pentaphosphate (IPP) = 3.47–4.10 μmol/ml RBC; ATP = 5.57–5.90 μmol/ml RBC; and the other phosphates were 2.15 – 2.66 μmol/ml RBC. 5. 5. The myoglobin concentration ranged from 0.68 mg Mb/g wet muscle in the leg to 7.2 mg Mb/g in the heart or 9.5 mg Mb/g in the pectoral muscle. Significantly high values were found in the birds on their arrival from migration when compared to the specimens resting in the winter ground. 6. 6. The organic phosphates in the red blood cells presented uniform distributions in the different lots analyzed. However, the molar relationship between the phosphate compounds and the hemoglobin showed a tendency to increase during the winter stay.