Seasonal sex steroids indicate reproductive costs associated with snake fungal disease

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dc.contributor.authorLind, C. M.en
dc.contributor.authorLorch, J. M.en
dc.contributor.authorMoore, Ignacio T.en
dc.contributor.authorVernasco, B. J.en
dc.contributor.authorFarrell, T. M.en
dc.contributor.departmentBiological Sciencesen
dc.date.accessioned2020-06-29T13:22:39Zen
dc.date.available2020-06-29T13:22:39Zen
dc.date.issued2019-02en
dc.description.abstractEmergent diseases may result in population declines by inducing mortality directly or through sublethal effects on host reproduction. Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging threat to biodiversity, but the sublethal impacts of disease on host fitness are poorly characterized. The cryptic nature of most snakes makes direct assessment of the fitness consequences of SFD challenging. In such contexts, measurement of sex steroids that correlate positively with seasonal reproductive investment may be useful in inferring the scope of disease impacts. To test the hypothesis that SFD is associated with reproductive suppression, we measured testosterone and estradiol in free-ranging pygmy rattlesnakes with varying clinical signs of SFD. We also used real-time PCR to validate the relationship between clinical signs and Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola (Oo) DNA presence on the skin. Infected males had lower testosterone compared to uninfected males during summer spermatogenesis and the fall breeding season. Infected females were less likely to have elevated estradiol compared to uninfected females during spring vitellogenesis. Approximately 85% of individuals with clinical signs were positive for Oo DNA. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that coping with SFD comes at a cost to the reproductive success of afflicted individuals, and that seasonal sex steroids may be valuable early indicators of sublethal effects.en
dc.description.adminPublic domain – authored by a U.S. government employeeen
dc.description.notesWe thank Candice Stevenson for providing access to the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge and Elizabeth Bohuski, Megan Winzeler, Kathryn Griffin, and Daniel R. Taylor for processing swab samples for PCR. Animal care practices and experimental procedures were approved by the IACUC committee at Stetson University (Protocol #'s SU-72 & SU-1001-2016). The use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government. This research was supported by National Science Foundation grant IOS-1145625 to ITM, a Stockton University Research and Professional Development Grant, and the Brown Center for Faculty Innovation and Excellence at Stetson University.en
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Science FoundationNational Science Foundation (NSF) [IOS-1145625]; Stockton University Research and Professional Development Grant; Brown Center for Faculty Innovation and Excellence at Stetson Universityen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12628en
dc.identifier.eissn1469-7998en
dc.identifier.issn0952-8369en
dc.identifier.issue2en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/99163en
dc.identifier.volume307en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.rightsCreative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedicationen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/en
dc.subjecttestosteroneen
dc.subjectestradiolen
dc.subjectOphidiomyces ophiodiicolaen
dc.subjectsublethal effectsen
dc.subjectreal-time PCRen
dc.subjectconservation physiologyen
dc.subjectsnake fungal diseaseen
dc.subjectReproductionen
dc.titleSeasonal sex steroids indicate reproductive costs associated with snake fungal diseaseen
dc.title.serialJournal of Zoologyen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.dcmitypeStillImageen

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