Studies have suggested a role for natural seasonal change to drive patterns of disease, especially within ectothermic vertebrates. In light of recent climate change, it is important to understand baseline disease resistance in a seasonal context to further understand the role that changes in seasonal weather patterns may have in increasing disease frequency. Herein we found support for the seasonal acclimation hypothesis in Gopherus polyphemus (gopher tortoise), which indicated that natural seasonal variation causes differences in baseline immune function across seasonal acclimation states. We found that an innate immune parameter, bactericidal ability (BA), was significantly elevated in the summer (P < 0.00001). Circulating leukocyte profiles varied significantly among seasons, with heterophils and monocytes increased (P = 0.00019 and P = 0.0001, respectively) and lymphocytes decreased (P < 0.00001) during winter. We assayed baseline glucocorticoid concentration (e.g., corticosterone [CORT]) across seasons and sampling conditions to test whether CORT drove the seasonal pattern in immunological acclimation. CORT was significantly lowest during winter and in animals temporarily maintained in seminatural conditions. These changes in CORT occurred independently of the immunological adjustments, suggesting that the seasonal pattern of immunity was not mediated by CORT secretion. The reduction in lymphocytes and BA and also BA during winter suggest that seasonal acclimation is likely a restraint on energetic output when temperature is low and physiological performance is thermally constrained. While these parameters were reduced in winter, the increase in heterophils and monocytes may indicate a compensatory immune adjustment to increase the number of innate phagocytic cells.
Keywords: bacterial killing assay; bactericidal ability; differential leukocyte; ecoimmunology; global change; glucocorticoid; heterophil∶lymphocyte ratio.