Intraspecific investigation of dehydration-enhanced innate immune performance and endocrine stress response to sublethal dehydration in a semi-aquatic species of pit viper - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Experimental Biology Année : 2022

Intraspecific investigation of dehydration-enhanced innate immune performance and endocrine stress response to sublethal dehydration in a semi-aquatic species of pit viper

Résumé

Sublethal dehydration can cause negative physiological effects, but recent studies investigating the sub-lethal effects of dehydration on innate immune performance in reptiles have found a positive correlation between innate immune response and plasma osmolality. To investigate if this is an adaptive trait that evolved in response to dehydration in populations inhabiting water-scarce environments, we sampled free-ranging cottonmouths (n=26 adult cottonmouths) from two populations inhabiting contrasting environments in terms of water availability: Snake Key (n=12), an island with no permanent sources of fresh water and Paynes Prairie (n=14), a flooded freshwater prairie. In addition to field surveys, we manipulated the hydration state of 17 cottonmouths (Paynes Prairie n=9, Snake Key n=8) in a laboratory setting and measured the response of corticosterone and innate immune performance to dehydration with the aim of identifying any correlation or trade-offs between them. We measured corticosterone of cottonmouths at a baseline level and then again following a 60-min stress test when at three hydration states: hydrated, dehydrated, and rehydrated. We found that innate immune performance improved with dehydration and then returned to baseline levels within 48 hours of rehydration, which agrees with previous research in reptiles. Despite the frequent exposure of cottonmouths on Snake Key to dehydrating conditions, we did not find cottonmouths inhabiting the island to show a greater magnitude or more prolonged immune response compared to cottonmouths from Paynes Prairie. We also found a positive association between dehydration and corticosterone values.
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Dates et versions

hal-03770084 , version 1 (24-03-2023)

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Mark Sandfoss, François Brischoux, Harvey Lillywhite. Intraspecific investigation of dehydration-enhanced innate immune performance and endocrine stress response to sublethal dehydration in a semi-aquatic species of pit viper. Journal of Experimental Biology, 2022, 225 (17), pp.jeb243894. ⟨10.1242/jeb.243894⟩. ⟨hal-03770084⟩
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