Submission Type
Poster
Abstract
Amphibian biodiversity has greatly diminished in recent years due to disease. Panzootic pathogenic fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) causes the deadly disease chytridiomycosis (chytrid), a primary driver of catastrophic global amphibian declines and extinctions. The pathogenesis of chytrid is still unclear, as certain species and individuals within a species are differentially affected. Susceptibility and mortality of Bd are influenced by prolonged chronic stress. Prolonged glucocorticoid activity deleteriously affects many of the same physiological processes as Bd infections, and corticosterone is the primary glucocorticoid released by amphibians in response to stress. Thus, the objective of our study is to assess the relationship of corticosterone variation and Bd spore load in Arizona tiger salamanders (ATS; Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum). We used a non-invasive skin swabbing method to collect baseline corticosterone from paedomorph (aquatic morph), metamorph (terrestrial morph), and larval (immature) ATS in June and July 2022. Baseline samples were collected within three minutes of capture. Bd samples were then collected via skin swabbing, and biometrics for individual animals measured. Additional samples will be collected in summer of 2023, and will allow us to consider corticosterone and Bd spore load variation by morph, sex, location, and body condition. Our study will provide a greater understanding of the pathogenesis of Bd and the interacting effects of glucocorticoid production and polyphenic life history on disease resistance. My results will develop the use of corticosterone as a predictor of Bd susceptibility and severity of infection.
Included in
Biology Commons, Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Commons, Endocrinology Commons, Immunology of Infectious Disease Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Does stress physiology mediate disease resistance in the Arizona tiger salamander (Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum)?
Amphibian biodiversity has greatly diminished in recent years due to disease. Panzootic pathogenic fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) causes the deadly disease chytridiomycosis (chytrid), a primary driver of catastrophic global amphibian declines and extinctions. The pathogenesis of chytrid is still unclear, as certain species and individuals within a species are differentially affected. Susceptibility and mortality of Bd are influenced by prolonged chronic stress. Prolonged glucocorticoid activity deleteriously affects many of the same physiological processes as Bd infections, and corticosterone is the primary glucocorticoid released by amphibians in response to stress. Thus, the objective of our study is to assess the relationship of corticosterone variation and Bd spore load in Arizona tiger salamanders (ATS; Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum). We used a non-invasive skin swabbing method to collect baseline corticosterone from paedomorph (aquatic morph), metamorph (terrestrial morph), and larval (immature) ATS in June and July 2022. Baseline samples were collected within three minutes of capture. Bd samples were then collected via skin swabbing, and biometrics for individual animals measured. Additional samples will be collected in summer of 2023, and will allow us to consider corticosterone and Bd spore load variation by morph, sex, location, and body condition. Our study will provide a greater understanding of the pathogenesis of Bd and the interacting effects of glucocorticoid production and polyphenic life history on disease resistance. My results will develop the use of corticosterone as a predictor of Bd susceptibility and severity of infection.
