INVESTIGADORES
PALACIOS Maria Gabriela
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Long-term elevation of indicators of physiological stress in captive garter snakes
Autor/es:
SPARKMAN, A. M.; PALACIOS, M. G.; BRONIKOWSKI, A. M.
Lugar:
San Francisco
Reunión:
Congreso; Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Meeting; 2013
Institución organizadora:
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
Resumen:
The physiological response to captive stress varies among species,
with some adapting quickly to captive environments, but others adjusting slowly
or exhibiting long-term deviation from baseline patterns in the wild. To
evaluate the effects of captivity on any given species, it is essential to
compare captive measures with measures taken in the wild. We tested for
hematological indicators of captive stress in juvenile and adult western
terrestrial garter snakes, Thamnophis elegans . We measured baseline
plasma corticosterone and heterophil to lymphocyte (H:L) ratios in both
juvenile and adult snakes upon capture in the field, and in adult females after
one and three months in captivity. Corticosterone and H:L ratios were also
measured at three and thirteen months of age in captive-born offspring of
wild-caught females. Interestingly, while corticosterone levels were strongly
positively correlated to H:L ratios in the field, the relationship between the
two disappeared over time spent in captivity, and was not present in juveniles
born in captivity. Longitudinal samples of adult females showed higher levels
of both corticosterone and H:L ratios in captivity than in the field; both
variables were at their highest levels after three months in captivity.
Offspring corticosterone and H:L ratios were also significantly higher than a
mixed-age sample of animals in the field. Our findings suggest that captivity
has long-term consequences for physiological indices of stress in Thamnophis
elegans , and that these consequences are manifest in both wild-born and
captive-born individuals.