Abstract
The immune state is an essential component of survival as it directly influences physiological performance and health status. Variation in the leukocyte profile, a significantly increase in body temperature, and a detriment of the eco-physiological performance are among the possible consequences of an unhealthy state. In this study we analyse and discuss how field body temperature, preferred body temperature, the speed for sprint and long runs, locomotor stamina, and body condition can be affected by the immunological state (i.e. leukocyte profile) in a wild population of Liolaemus sarmentoi. Juveniles and adult males with a high percentage of eosinophils, basophils, and a low percentage of monocytes preferred higher body temperatures in a thermal gradient, while pregnant females maintained thermal preferences independently of leukocyte profile. Although juveniles with a high percentage of heterophils showed less locomotor stamina, adult males and pregnant females showed no differences in locomotor performance in relation to leukocyte profile. This study represents a starting point in eco-immunology of a wild lizard population of Liolaemus in cold and temperate environments of Patagonia where the southward shift in the geographic ranges of pathogen populations due to global warming represents a threat to resident host populations.
Highlights
The interplay between immune system responses and phenotypic plasticity of physiological performance related with fitness defines the BIOLOGICAL SCIENCESAn Acad Bras Cienc (2019) 91(4)ECO-IMMUNOLOGY OF Liolaemus sarmientoiZimmerman et al 2010)
In this study we analyse and discuss how field body temperature, preferred body temperature, the speed for sprint and long runs, locomotor stamina, and body condition can be affected by the immunological state in a wild population of Liolaemus sarmentoi
Juveniles with a high percentage of heterophils showed less locomotor stamina, adult males and pregnant females showed no differences in locomotor performance in relation to leukocyte profile
Summary
The interplay between immune system responses and phenotypic plasticity of physiological performance related with fitness defines the BIOLOGICAL SCIENCESAn Acad Bras Cienc (2019) 91(4)ECO-IMMUNOLOGY OF Liolaemus sarmientoiZimmerman et al 2010). Immune function may benefit from modified body temperature, in ectotherms the energetic costs of immune responses and other physiological demands, such as reproductive output, and fitness, result in a balance between the benefits accrued from the control of body temperature and the costs of thermoregulation (Hallman et al 1990, Ortega et al 1991, Merchant et al 2008). There is a range of costly consequences impacting behavioural and eco-physiological performance in ectotherms whose avoidance is determined by immune system responses, and by thermoregulatory efficiency (Deen and Hutchison 2001, Zamora-Camacho et al 2016)
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