Meeting Abstract
Many environmental stressors, including hypoxia, anoxia, ecotourism, and temperature fluctuations, have recently been analyzed in the context of how they impact oxidative state. Studies have found that these stressors can, in fact, impose oxidative stress. However, despite the physiological importance of water, the effect of dehydration, a common environmental stressor for species that undergo seasonal droughts, on oxidative state has largely been unexplored. We chose to investigate the effect of water deprivation on oxidative state using Children’s pythons (Antaresia childreni), which are native to Northern Australia and experience yearly dry seasons. Children’s python become dehydrated at times during the dry season and dehydration improves innate immune performance, leading to our question of whether dehydration might also affect oxidative state. We collected a blood sample from 15 male Children’s pythons at the start of the study when they were hydrated, then subjected them to 52 days without food or water, a duration that is ecologically relevant. After 52 days, we collected a second blood sample to ascertain the effect of dehydration on oxidative balance. We then provided them with water ad libitum, and collected blood samples at 3 and 7 days post re-hydration to ascertain the timing of recovery from the dehydration event. Our work provides foundational results that enable us to begin to understand the relationship between water balance and oxidative state.
