Morris Animal Foundation

Along the way, our studies have led to major advances in veterinary care, including vaccines and other preventions, diagnostic tools and new therapies for the diseases and health conditions that threaten the lives of the animals we love. You can search our completed-study database by species and/or disease to learn more about our successes.

INSTRUCTIONS - Click here for a non-javascript, ADA-compatible studies navigator. Otherwise, Select a division from the left column, a disease or disorder from the middle column, and a study ID number from the right column.

D05ZO-610: “Cholinestrase Determination as Part of an Overall Health Assessment of Alaskan Caribou (Rangifer Tarandus Subsp. Granti)”

principal investigator: Cristina M. Hansen, student, University of Illinois
completed
Project Mentor: Petra A. Volmer, DVM

Cholinesterase is an enzyme found in the brain, nerve synapses, and blood. Its function can be affected by commonly used sedatives (often necessary when working with wild animal populations) and pesticides. The goal of this project was to establish normal reference ranges for blood cholinesterase activity in Alaskan caribou. With this baseline information, scientists and veterinarians will be able to refer to them when evaluating the health of caribou or investigating possible contamination with pesticides. After establishing the average ranges, this project found that the sedative carfentanyl did affect the blood cholinesterase activity – the first scientific documentation of this. As well, they found that freezing the samples also had a significant affect on blood cholinesterase activity. Since many blood samples from the field will come from animals that were sedated and the samples will have been frozen before laboratory use this information is important to know.

Cristina says, “This project strengthened my belief that wildlife research is important, fascinating, fun, and what I want to do with my life.”