Meeting Abstract

P1.110  Monday, Jan. 4  Effects of Human Disturbance on Immunocompetence and Stress Responses in Galapagos Marine Iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) FRENCH, S.S.*; DENARDO, D.F.; GREIVES, T.J.; STRAND, C.R.; DEMAS, G.E.; Utah State University; Arizona State University; Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Vogelwarte Radolfzell; California Polytechnic State University; Indiana University sfrench@biology.usu.edu

The environment is currently undergoing intense changes at both global (e.g., climate change) and local (e.g., tourism, pollution, habitat modification) scales. Many of these changes are anthropogenic and have the capacity to affect the viability of natural populations. While some human impacts on species are examined, such studies typically assess population-level responses to major anthropogenic changes. However, individual physiological responses to mild human disturbance can be equally critical to the long-term survival of a species, yet they remain largely unexamined. The current study investigated the impact of seemingly low-level human disturbance (ecotourism) on specific fitness-related immune measures, in the marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus). Specifically, we assessed stress-induced changes in plasma corticosterone among populations to understand the impacts of human exposure. Environmental perturbations can cause stress-induced increases in plasma corticosterone which have a suite of effects on organismal physiology. We also measured set of immunological responses (i.e., bacterial killing ability, cutaneous wound healing, hemolytic complement activity) to assess stress-related effects on the health of individuals in different populations. By identifying health-related consequences of human disturbance, this study provides critical insight into the conservation of a unique and well-known species, and also contributes to the foundation of knowledge needed to understand the global significance of various levels of human disturbance.