Comparative Analysis of Blood System Indicators of Three Species of Immature Forest Voles Under Conditions of Low Autumn Temperatures

Abstract

Quantitative structural and functional indicators of the blood system were studied in immature autumn individuals of closely related species: bank, red, and red-gray voles (18, 11, and 9 individuals, respectively), constituting a reserve population in the autumn–winter period, to assess the adaptive response to low temperature conditions. Interspecies differences in the size of the diffusion surface and the degree of hemoglobinization of erythrocytes, typical for each species, have been identified. The three species of voles with a similar ability to carry oxygen per unit volume of blood have different mechanisms for providing tissues with oxygen. The identified differences in the responses of blood parameters (reticulocytes, erythrocyte indices, and leukocyte composition) reflect the physiological mechanism of maintaining hemoglobin concentration in the blood, being therefore of great importance in solving issues of homeostasis of the body in a changing environment. Based on a set of experimental data, groups of voles (taxonomy) corresponding to the classification of species were identified using discriminant analysis.