Guillermo Wiemeyer

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
• Researcher at CONICET (National Scientific and Technical Research Council)

Lead poisoning is an important global conservation problem for many species of wildlife, especially raptors. Despite the increasing number of individual studies and regional reviews of lead poisoning of raptors, it has been over a decade since this information has been compiled into a comprehensive global review. Here, we summarize the state of kno...

Different syndromes are involved in human psittacosis (flu-like syndrome, atypical pneumonia up to lacrimal gland lymphoma). Diagnostic methods include serology, culture, and PCR. The rate of Chlamydia psittaci (Cp) positive tests among exposed workers is still unknown. Our study aimed to assess the rate of positive tests among workers who have con...

se decsribe por primera vez un caso de miocardiopatai isquemica debida a microtrombosis intramiocardica en un canido silvestre de Argentina

Introduction: The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the crucial role of the “One Health” (OH) concept in the prevention, early detection, and mitigation of health issues involving humans, animals, and the environment. Recognizing the intrinsic interdependence among human health, animal health, and environmental well-being is crucial, demandi...

Plan de Acción para la Conservación del Águila Coronada (Harpyhaliaetus coronatus) en la Argentina Edición 2010

‘Rewilding’ is a nature conservation strategy gaining prominence worldwide. Established in the Northern Hemisphere, rewilding initiatives have increasingly been proposed in Argentina, but their relative merits, feasibility of implementation and accountability have lacked adequate analysis and discussion. Recently, 125 scientists and practitioners w...

En los últimos años se han desarrollado en Argentina distintas intervenciones relacionadas con el rewilding (o re-asilvestramiento), abarcando una variedad de especies (e.g., grandes carnívoros, ungulados, psitácidos) y ecorregiones (e.g., Chaco Húmedo y Seco, Estepa Patagónica). El reasilvestramiento es definido como una estrategia aplicada en el...

Potential exposure of the Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) to pharmaceuticals is of high conservation interest, as these compounds can produce catastrophic consequences for populations of avian scavengers. Due to the extensive livestock management in most of Patagonia, we expected Andean condors to be rarely exposed to veterinary pharmaceuticals thro...

Several species of reptiles and mammals have components in their sera that can neutralize toxic components present in snake venoms. In this manuscript, we studied the neutralizing capacity of Chaco eagle's (Buteogallus coronatus) serum. This South American bird of prey eats snakes as a regular part of its diet and has anatomical features that prote...

Overuse and misapplication of veterinary pharmaceuticals affects the ecosystem, even at low concentrations. Vultures are mainly exposed to these compounds when feeding on improperly disposed carcasses from animals treated before death. This produces diverse negative impacts on vulture health and populations, even leading to death. Using the availab...

The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) is a culturally iconic wildlife symbol for the South American Andes, but is naturally found at very low population densities, and is increasingly threatened. Using the Range Wide Priority Setting methodology, we (a group of 38 Andean Condor experts) updated the Andean Condor historical range (3,230,061 km2), syste...

The evolution of large vultures linked to mountainous habitats was accompanied by extreme physiological and behavioral specializations for energetically efficient flights. However, little is known on the genetic traits associated with the evolution of these obligate soaring scavengers. Mitochondrial DNA plays a vital role in regulating oxidative st...

The aim of the study was to investigate the intramuscular pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin in black vultures (Coragyps atratus). The pharmacokinetics of a single intramuscular dose (10 mg/kg) of enrofloxacin was studied in six vultures. Plasma concentrations of enrofloxacin and its active metabolite, ciprofloxacin, were determined by high-performan...

The evolution of large vultures linked to mountainous habitats was accompanied by extreme physiological and behavioral specializations for energetically efficient flights. However, little is known on the genetic traits associated with the evolution of these obligate soaring scavengers. Mitochondrial DNA plays a vital role in regulating oxidative st...

Wild bird species have commonly been implicated as potential vectors of pathogens to other species, humans included. However, the habitat where birds live could influence the probability to acquire these pathogens. Here, we evaluated if the characteristics of the environment used by obligate scavenging birds (vultures) influence their colonization...

Carotenoids are pigmented compounds acquired through diet that have important functions as antioxidants and immune modulators. We studied the association between immunity and circulating carotenoids in Andean condors (Vultur gryphus ). We evaluated the relationship between α‐, β‐, and γ‐globulin blood concentrations and different circulating carote...

Lead contamination is a global problem affecting a large number of bird species around the world. Among the different avian guilds, vultures and facultative scavengers are particularly threatened by this toxic metal. However, little information is available about differences in exposure to this metal for sympatric vulture species that share food re...

Volcanic eruptions produce health changes in animals that may be associated with emitted gases and deposited ashes. We evaluated whether the Puyehue–Cordón Caulle volcanic eruption in 2011 produced health changes in the threatened Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) living in the area most affected by the eruption, northwestern Patagonia. We studied cli...

The study of wildlife health greatly contributes to understanding population dynamics and detecting conservation threats. The determination of the different fractions of plasma proteins (proteinogram) is an important laboratory tool to study wildlife health. The aim of this study was to characterize protein electrophoresis in wild Andean condors (V...

Objective: To determine the pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin after IV administration in American black vultures (Coragyps atratus), to compare clearance of enrofloxacin in American black vultures with clearance of this fluoroquinolone in other avian species, and to evaluate whether allometric scaling is an appropriate tool for dose extrapolation i...

Lead contamination is a worldwide problem that affects the health of several bird species and can cause biodiversity loss. However, in South America there is little information about this problem and the species affected. The aim of this study is to compile existing knowledge about lead contamination in South American bird species and propose actio...

Over the last century, marine mammals have been dramatically reduced in the world's oceans. We examined evidence that this change caused dietary and foraging pattern shifts of the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) in Patagonia. We hypothesized that, after the decrease in marine mammals and the increase in human use of coastlines, condor diet changed t...

OR039 XVII Congreso SADI ANÁLISIS DESCRIPTIVO DE CATASTRO MOLECULAR Y SEROLÓGICO PARA Chlamydia psittaci EN PERSONAL DE UNA RESERVA ANIMAL DE LA CIUDAD DE BUENOS AIRES EN CONTACTO CON AVES PORTADORAS P Favier Hospital Fernandez, M Arias Instituto Malbran, C Lara Instituto Malbran, G Wiemeyer Ecoparque de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, A Crivelli Hospit...

Sex-related divergences in many phenotypic traits, such as morphology, physiology, and behavior, have widely been described in animals. These asymmetries may adapt the sexes to different subniches, but also may produce sex-specific optima for life-history traits, as well as different costs. In birds, long movements in search of food and intraspecif...

Because large species ingest proportionally less food than small ones, it may be predicted that they should incorporate relatively fewer carotenoids to a proportionally equal volume of blood. However, some species may increase their levels of circulating carotenoids by ingesting unusual food. We tested whether the plasma concentration of carotenoid...

Electrocardiography is a useful tool when included in healthcare protocols and is increasingly utilized for monitoring wild birds. However, the lack of reference data for many species is limiting the clinical value of this technique. In this study 26 Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) coming from rehabilitation and captive breeding programs were exami...

Among birds, vultures show low concentrations of plasma carotenoids due to the combination of their large size, general dull colouration and a diet based on carrion. We recorded the concentration of each carotenoid type present in plasma of the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) according to age and sex, that determine colour signalling and dominance h...

Correlations (Pearson r, P-values in brackets) among concentrations of carotenoid types within plasma of wild Andean condors (n = 22, upper right quadrant) and captive Andean condors (n = 24, lower left quadrant). (DOC)

Descriptive statistics and summary of results from the ANOVA explaining variation in the plasma concentration (µg/mL) of each carotenoid type according to age: adults (n = 10) and subadults (n = 17, pooling juveniles and subadults) and sex (male, n = 14, female, n = 13) of captive Andean condors. (DOC)

Resumen Con el arribo del primer ejemplar de Harpyhaliaetus coronatus para su rehabilitación, el Proyecto de Conservación y Rescate de Aves Rapaces (PCRAR) comenzó en el año 2003 una línea de trabajo con la especie que incluye los rescates con fines de rehabilitación y conservación. Las primeras experiencias ayudaron a comprender la metodología de...

El PCRAR, en conjunto con otras instituciones y grupos, ha realizado cuatro rescates de ejemplares con diversos orígenes y causas en los últimos cinco años. Ejemplar 1- Subadulto hembra de la provincia de San Luis con un disparo en un ala, rehabilitado y liberado. Ejemplar 2- Pichón macho de la provincia de Mendoza, caído del nido y rehabilitado in...