HEMATOLOGY AND SERUM CHEMISTRY OF OZARK AND EASTERN HELLBENDERS (CRYPTOBRANCHUS ALLEGANIENSIS)

Hellbenders are large aquatic salamanders. The Ozark subspecies is in decline through its range. This is the first comprehensive report on hematologic and serum chemistry for both Ozark and eastern hellbenders. Blood samples were analyzed for 25 parameters in 33 Ozark hellbenders from the North Fork of White River and the Eleven Point River in Missouri and 45 eastern hellbenders from the Davidson River- Looking Glass Creek in North Carolina and the Cooper Creek in Georgia. Each river was considered a population. In general, the majority of the blood parameters analyzed were similar between populations and subspecies for same-sex individuals, although a few significant differences were identified. The baseline data we acquired are important for future monitoring of hellbender populations, particularly as Ozark hellbender populations continue to age. HELLBENDERS (Cryptobranchus alleganien- sis) are large aquatic salamanders that inhabit cold streams and rivers of parts of the eastern United States. Two subspecies occur: eastern hellbenders (C. alleganiensis alleganiensis) and Ozark hellbenders (C. alleganiensis bishopi). The subspecies currently are distinguished by geographic region, with Ozark hellbenders only occurring in the White, Spring, Current, and Eleven Point Rivers and tributaries of south- eastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas (Nickerson and Mays, 1973; Rogers, 2001). Ozark hellbenders have been declining with rare recruitment of young in the populations (Wheeler et al., 2003). A comparison of historical data from the late 1970s against more recent data from 1998 found a shift in size classes and a decline in population density in both rivers (Peterson, 1985; Wheeler et al., 2003). Though the causes of the decline remain to be elucidated, changes in abiotic and biotic factors have been observed in the hellbender habitat in some populations, including habitat degradation, erosion, chemical runoff, in- creased gigging activities (fishing with a pronged spear), heavy canoe traffic, and predation (Dundee, 1971; Humphries, 1999; Minton, 1972; Nickerson and Mays, 1973; Smith and