Plasma Vitamin, Mineral, and Biochemistry Concentrations in Free-Ranging, Adult Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) during Spring Egress
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine vitamin (A, D, E), mineral (cobalt, copper, molybdenum, manganese, iron, selenium, zinc), and plasma biochemistry concentrations in free-ranging, eastern massasauga rattlesnakes (EMR) (Sistrurus catenatus) in relation to age, sex, reproductive status, and season. Plasma samples were collected from 24 snakes post-brumation (April–May) in Michigan. Significant increases in weight and plasma vitamin E, iron, molybdenum, calcium, phosphorus, triglycerides, and cholesterol were detected in gravid compared to non-gravid females. Vitamin D synthesis from ultraviolet B radiation may be possible in EMR and requires further research. Gravid snakes appear to bioaccumulate molybdenum in tissues. Although the sample size and methodology did not meet ASVCP guidelines for establishing reference ranges, the data provide an important first step in elucidating the role of vitamin and trace minerals in relation to EMR health and reproduction. These data can be used to compare trends across free-ranging and zoo-managed EMR populations and may help to guide changes in husbandry and nutrition programs for the zoo-managed EMR.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".