Immune function study on manatees at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. Final report.

Abstract

The objectives of this portion of the study were to provide a greater understanding of cold stress related factors including immunosuppression in manatees. The immune response, as measured through lymphocyte proliferation and nitric oxide (NO) production, of captive manatees in response to environmental water tempeature changes was measured. Additionally, gene expression profiles of immune cells collected from spring run manatees compared to manatees maintained in the pool were compared using subtraction hybridization.