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Date of Graduation
5-2027
Description
Chronic stress is related to a decline in immune function in all living organisms and is known to increase the likelihood of developing or exacerbating chronic non-infectious diseases. However, the role of chronic stress in affecting outcomes of infection important to individual health and endpoints important for epidemic dynamics (e.g., likelihood of transmission) are not well understood. In this study we exposed canaries (Serinus canaria) to chronic stress or control conditions after which they were inoculated with Mycoplasma Gallisepticum, a bacterium that causes respiratory disease in birds.
Following the chronic stress protocol, the canaries were assessed every day for measures of body condition (body mass and fat score) and disease pathology (eye swelling). Once a week, we also swabbed eye conjunctiva to measure pathogen load and collected blood samples to measure hematocrit levels. In this system greater eye swelling and higher pathogen loads are associated with greater likelihood of MG transmission.
Preliminary data demonstrated that birds exposed to chronic stress had greater body mass and fat stores but showed no significant differences in disease pathology compared to control birds. Pathogen load analysis using qPCR indicated no significant differences between stressed and control groups. However, chronic stress was associated with prolonged recovery times and higher mortality rates. Our findings highlight the ecological significance of chronic stress in wildlife populations, suggesting that frequent stressors, such as habitat disturbance or food scarcity, may heighten disease susceptibility and mortality. These results underscore the potential for chronic stress to amplify epidemic risks in stressed populations.
Publication Date
2025
Document Type
Book
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Biology
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Biological Sciences
Advisor/Mentor
DuRant, Sarah
Disciplines
Life Sciences
Keywords
Natural Science
Citation
Singhal, V., Sauer, E., Barraza-Del Barco, S., Turner, K. H., Kirkpatrick, W. H., Perrine, W., Heissenberger, S., & DuRant, S. E. (2025). Stress Affects Infectious Disease Outcomes in Canaries. 2025 Research Poster Competition. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/hnrcsturpc25/27
