Development of Dynamic Indicators of Resilience in Wild Rodent (Peromyscus maniculatus)

Casper, Erin

Development of Dynamic Indicators of Resilience in Wild Rodent (Peromyscus maniculatus)

dc.contributor.advisor	Pruvot, Mathieu
dc.contributor.advisor	Kutz, Susan
dc.contributor.author	Casper, Erin
dc.contributor.committeemember	Mastromonaco, Gabriela
dc.date	2024-11
dc.date.accessioned	2024-08-27T15:21:47Z
dc.date.available	2024-08-27T15:21:47Z
dc.date.issued	2024-08-26
dc.description.abstract	One of the primary reasons for global species decline is environmental disturbance which pose multiple stressors on wildlife populations. However, understanding the complex effects of multiple stressors has been difficult to assess. Resilience, or the ability of a system to cope with disturbance, may pose as a framework to assess the effects of multiple stressors on individuals. To develop a method to measure the resilience of individuals, physiological and immunological markers downstream of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis were assessed for use as dynamic indicators of resilience (DIORs) in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). Candidate markers were assessed for the presence of a dynamic response to acute stress, and if that dynamic response changed under the influence of chronic stressors, indicating a change in individual resilience. To complete these objectives, a standardized sampling method was optimized, and markers were assessed for the presence of a consistent dynamic response profile and intraindividual repeatability. This refined the methodology that was needed to test candidate markers for use as DIORs. Next, we investigated how this response changed for each marker after animals had experienced different types and numbers of chronic stressors. We observed that effects of different types of stressors were not additive, and that the interaction between different types of stressors may be antagonistic. To determine if these markers could be used as DIORs, individual changes to their response and recovery slopes were compared after stress treatments to assess if these metrics could indicate change in individual resilience. We did not observe a decrease in recovery rate in any marker after treatment. We attributed this to the stress treatments not achieving the intensity or duration of stress needed to induce modulation of the HPA-axis. Due to this, it was difficult to make conclusions on the markers tested regarding their use as DIORs. However, this project highlighted key issues within the study design, that if corrected, would allow for a proper assessment of their application. While conclusions about these markers as DIORs could not be made, this study has laid important groundwork in developing testing protocols for biomarkers that may be used as DIORs for free-ranging wildlife populations.
dc.identifier.citation	Casper, E. (2024). Development of dynamic indicators of resilience in wild rodent (Peromyscus maniculatus) (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/119516
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	Wildlife Health
dc.subject	Stress
dc.subject	Deer Mouse
dc.subject	Resilience
dc.subject.classification	Animal Physiology
dc.subject.classification	Veterinary Science
dc.title	Development of Dynamic Indicators of Resilience in Wild Rodent (Peromyscus maniculatus)
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Veterinary Medical Sciences
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.