Meeting Abstract
The frequency and intensity of ecological perturbation is expected to increase in the future with animals facing multiple global threats. Our ability to assess the response of free-ranging animals to a stressor is vital to our understanding of how animals cope with ecological disturbance. Seahorse Key is a continental island in the Gulf of Mexico that has historically been the site of a major waterbird rookery. The island also supports a population of Florida cottonmouth snakes (Agkistrodon conanti), which has a unique trophic association with nesting waterbirds. In April 2015 the waterbirds completely abandoned the island for nesting purposes and shifted nesting activities and subsequently all food resources to nearby Snake Key. This study takes advantage of this natural ecological “experiment” to evaluate plasma corticosterone, blood glucose, natural antibody agglutination, hemogram, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate to characterize the long-term effects of differential resource availability of two populations in situ. In fall 2018, we collected blood samples at three time points from cottonmouths on Seahorse Key (n = 6) and Snake Key (n = 13). Our results suggest three years after the shift in waterbird nesting Seahorse Key cottonmouths exhibit lower body condition, a dampened acute stress response, and suspected impaired innate immune functions relative to cottonmouths on Snake Key. Our results highlight the context-dependent nature of physiological biomarkers and suggests that the reduced availability of energy on Seahorse Key has resulted in an inability to maintain adequate stress responses and innate immune functions.
