Elevated Corticosterone Levels and Changes in Amphibian Behavior Are Associated with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) Infection and Bd Lineage

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dc.contributor.authorGabor, Caitlin R.
dc.contributor.authorFisher, Matthew C.
dc.contributor.authorBosch, Jaime
dc.date.accessioned2021-08-09T16:50:56Z
dc.date.available2021-08-09T16:50:56Z
dc.date.issued2015-04-20
dc.description.abstractFew studies have examined the role hormones play in mediating clinical changes associated with infection by the parasite Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Glucocorticoid (GC) hormones such as corticosteroids (CORT) regulate homeostasis and likely play a key role in response to infection in amphibians. We explore the relationship between CORT release rates and Bd infection in tadpoles of the common midwife toad, Alytes obstetricians, using a non-invasive water-borne hormone collection method across seven populations. We further examined whether tadpoles of A. muletensis infected with a hypervirulent lineage of Bd, BdGPL, had greater CORT release rates than those infected with a hypovirulent lineage, BdCAPE. Finally, we examined the relationship between righting reflex and CORT release rates in infected metamorphic toads of A. obstetricans. We found an interaction between elevation and Bd infection status confirming that altitude is associated with the overall severity of infection. In tandem, increasing elevation was associated with increasing CORT release rates. Tadpoles infected with the hypervirulent BdGPL had significantly higher CORT release rates than tadpoles infected with BdCAPE showing that more aggressive infections lead to increased CORT release rates. Infected metamorphs with higher CORT levels had an impaired righting reflex, our defined experimental endpoint. These results provide evidence that CORT is associated with an amphibian’s vulnerability to Bd infection, and that CORT is also affected by the aggressiveness of infection by Bd. Together these results indicate that CORT is a viable biomarker of amphibian stress.
dc.description.departmentBiology
dc.formatText
dc.format.extent13 pages
dc.format.medium1 file (.pdf)
dc.identifier.citationGabor, C. R., Fisher, M. C., & Bosch, J. (2015). Elevated corticosterone levels and changes in amphibian behavior are associated with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) infection and Bd lineage. PLoS One, 10(4), e0122685.
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0122685
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/14248
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherPublic Library of Science
dc.rights.holder© 2015 Gabor et al.
dc.rights.licenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
dc.rights.licenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
dc.sourcePLoS One, 2015, Vol. 10, No. 04, Article e0122685.
dc.subjecttadpoles
dc.subjectamphibians
dc.subjectfungal pathogens
dc.subjectreflexes
dc.subjecttoads
dc.subjectamphibian metamorphosis
dc.subjectparasitic diseases
dc.subjectdeath rates
dc.subjectBiology
dc.titleElevated Corticosterone Levels and Changes in Amphibian Behavior Are Associated with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) Infection and Bd Lineage
dc.typeArticle

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