Erythrocytic and Nuclear Abnormalities in Natrix sp. from the Biga Stream (Çanakkale, Türkiye)

Abstract

The Grass Snake (Natrix natrix) and the Dice Snake (Natrix tessellata) are potential bioindicator water snake species in certain aquatic habitats. The aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency of erythrocytic abnormalities, immature erythrocyte index, and nuclear abnormalities in Natrix natrix and Natrix tessellata from Biga Stream in Çanakkale, Türkiye. Erythrocytic abnormalities and nuclear abnormalities such as micronuclei, lobbed nuclei, notched nuclei, blebbed nuclei, and binucleate cells were observed in peripheral blood smears for each sample. According to our results, total erythrocytic abnormalities in N. natrix (3.01±0.55%) were higher than in N. tessellata (2.52±0.32%). Similarly, the frequency of total nuclear abnormalities in N. natrix (13.40±2.7%) was higher than in N. tessellata (12.68±5.81%) but there was no statistically significant difference in total erythrocytic and nuclear abnormalities. However, student's t-test revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the two species only in terms of immature erythrocyte index (p: 0.008) which was higher in N. natrix. Due to the results, it was suggested that N. natrix may exhibit more physiological responses to envirenmental stress factors.