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Galloway, N.J. - Craig Lind, an associate professor of Biology, and his students are studying how temperature impacts reptile health. Their fieldwork site is just a few minutes away from their classroom at Lake Fred. 

A reptile’s immune system fights off pathogens across a broad range of temperatures from just above freezing during hibernation to a blazing hot summer day while basking in the sun.

Lind wants to better understand if reptiles will be able to adapt with climate change. He is focusing on six reptiles that live in Lake Fred: the northern water snake, common snapping turtle, redbellied turtle, mud turtle, musk turtle and painted turtle.

Unlike humans who have thermally optimized immune systems where immune proteins only need to function over a narrow temperature range, reptiles need to perform over a broad temperature range. 

The reptiles get a blood test, and the researchers get answers. Lind and his students collect blood samples and perform a blood assay in the lab. 

“We look at a cellular component of immunity’s ability to kill bacteria and mammal red blood cells,” Lind said.

The lab tests expose the blood samples to different antigen cells across a range of temperatures. The tests show how well the acellular components in the blood attack and ultimately kill or lyse the foreign cells.

The result is a curve that illustrates immune function across a temperature range with the top of the curve representing the optimum immune performance temperature.

“What we’re finding is that different ectotherms, or cold-blooded reptiles, have different thermal performance curves. The most effective temperature for their immune system is different across species,” he said.

Lind also wants to know if the thermal optimum varies seasonally.

Spring blood samples have been collected and tested. Once all of the summer blood samples are tested, his team can make comparisons. Their hypothesis is that there is no one performance curve for an individual because thermal performance varies seasonally.

“This study has important implications for how these organisms are going to be able to respond to projected climate change. If you have that built-in resilience and plasticity to acclimate, it gives you a little bit of wiggle room to respond to environmental change” he said.

Olivia Iorio, a senior Biology major from Pequannock, N.J., has been working with Lind on the lake and in the lab. Her next journey is attending a physician assistant program.

She described being a science major as “exciting, new and something I was thrilled to explore.” 

Besides the hands-on research experience, Iorio is learning science communication skills that are helping her relay complicated research into understandable stories that a large audience can easily connect and relate to.

A lesson she learned quickly is to ask for help.

“I’ve learned there’s no shame in admitting you’re confused and the only way to understand is to ask for help.  Gaining the confidence to be comfortable asking when I was unsure of something has been one of the biggest rewards in the field. This is something I still apply to my everyday life,” she said.

Reported by Susan Allen