Date of Award
11-18-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Biology, MS
First Advisor
Lorin Neuman-Lee
Committee Members
Than Boves; Virginie Rolland
Call Number
LD 251 .A566t 2021 T47
Abstract
Tradeoffs may occur among biological processes if individuals are energetically challenged. Glucocorticoids (GC) promote essential daily processes and energy reprioritization during stressful or energy-demanding periods and provide insight to an individual’s energetic state. I captured 123 wild adult red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta) outside of Cherry Valley, Arkansas in the Arkansas Delta between May and October 2019 to assess energy tradeoffs between innate immunity and GC secretion. I collected blood samples at 0–3, 30, and 60 min and used plasma in bacterial killing assays and radioimmunoassays to assess innate immunity and corticosterone concentrations, respectively. Tradeoffs were not evident in this population between innate immunity and GC secretion during this time frame, though seasonal patterns and sex differences were present. By understanding how reptiles allocate energy throughout their active period, this work allows us to ask further questions in the fields of ecophysiology and conservation.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Terry, Jennifer Lauren, "Shifts In the Acute Stress Response in Red-Eared Sliders (Trachemys Scripta) During the Activity Season" (2021). Student Theses and Dissertations. 292.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/292
