Blood oxygen- and carbon dioxide-carrying properties in captive penguins: effects of moulting and inter-specific comparison.

Venous blood gas-carrying properties were compared in the three captive species of penguins (king, gentoo and rockhopper) at Océanopolis (France). Captivity permitted to control environmental influences. Given their different ecology and diving behaviour in the wild, it was wondered whether milder conditions and dive privation have repercussions on parameters determining oxygen storage and acid-base status of these birds. In addition, this work provided the opportunity to study the effects of moulting in king penguins. This annual event that imposes deep metabolic adjustments is liable to affect blood gas levels. Because of the regular food supply and probably also of the blood sampling conditions, the blood pH of captive penguins was low. This effect was increased in moulting penguins and supposedly due to both the decreased energetic metabolism and the production of uric acid resulting from new feather synthesis. The decrease in the anion gap also revealed the use of plasmatic albumin for this synthesis. The elevated venous PO2 in all birds is not likely due to stress caused by sampling conditions. The other data, in accordance with those in the literature, show neither major influence of captivity nor fundamental interspecific differences, despite potential diving aptitude.