Date of Award

5-2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Departmental Honors

Department

Biology

Abstract

Energetic costs and constraints are key considerations when analyzing an organism’s life history and may require trade-offs to be made between different life history traits. One of these trade-offs occurs between investment in immunity and performance. The purpose of this study is to discover if this trade-off influences behavior in neonate Children’s pythons (Antaresia childreni). We hypothesize that snakes undergoing an immune response will have reduced behaviors promoting survival. To test this hypothesis, neonate Children’s pythons were randomly assigned to receive an immune challenge of keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) or a vehicle injection as a control. Two days after the injections, the individuals underwent three behavior trails over two consecutive days. These trails tested the snake’s strike frequence, swim speed, and endurance, and their performances were recorded and compared. Six days after injections blood smears were obtained. White blood cells differentials were performed by counting 500 total cells at 400x magnification and different cell types were recorded i.e. red blood cells, heterophils, monocytes, lymphocytes ect. We found KLH elicited an immune response, as KLH treated neonates had higher lymphocyte ratios. Within immune challenged snakes, but no controls, there was a negative correlation between performance and immune cell rations, suggesting a trade-off may be present. We also found that there is significant variation in mass across clutches, and that hatchling mass is correlated with performance, such that larger snakes perform better.

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Faculty Mentor

Susannah French

Departmental Honors Advisor

James Pitts