Interactions between Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Exposure and Behavior in Plethodon cinereus

Lunney, Ella

Interactions between Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Exposure and Behavior in Plethodon cinereus

Persistent URL

https://dspace.allegheny.edu/handle/10456/56705

Author(s)

Lunney, Ella

Date Issued

April 2023

Abstract

Behavior can be defined as a response to a stimulus. Pathogens are one form of stimulus that can influence the behaviors of the host. There is a discrepancy with host-pathogen interactions with some behaviors such as sociability increasing even in highly aggressive groups and exploration decreasing when infected with a pathogen. I am specifically interested in how Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) influences the behavior of amphibians. Plethodon cinereus is one species of salamander that is known to clear Bd infections, shown to experience slight behavioral changes with limb lifting and a slight drop in body mass. The aggressive behaviors of P. cinereus between a non-exposed group and an exposed group over a three week span were examined using the Mirror Test. P. cinereus lacks the ability to recognize themselves in a mirror, as such, a mirror can be used to elicit aggressive, sociable, and exploratory behavior between salamanders without introducing another animal into the container. Behavior was shown to be significantly influenced by exposure. Exposed groups continuously showed high levels of nose taps, a method for the species to pick up chemical cues of their surroundings. Additionally, the exposed and non-exposed groups showed a general increase in flat trunk behavior, a non-exploratory and submissive behavior. The exposed group also showed a decrease in full trunk behavior, an exploratory and aggressive behavior. In conclusion, adequate evidence was collected to support that exposure to Bd had a large effect on decreases in higher energy, exploratory behaviors and increases in lower energy, non-exploratory behaviors within red-backed salamanders. The association between these behaviors and survival in the wild, and the direct mechanism and the actual measurement of energetic expenditure from a more physiological perspective are both future topics to consider when considering the influences of host-pathogen interactions between P. cinereus and Bd.

Major

Biology

Psychology

First Reader(s)

Venesky, Matthew D.