Dr. Marilyn Mayer, Dr. Thomas Budd

Biology Honors Project

SLU Festival of Science 2001 Poster Presentation
 

Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) are freshwater fish that are a member of the perch family. They are found mainly in northern cold bodies of water such as the St. Lawrence River, Hudson Bay and many Canadian and northern United States fresh water bodies.  The seasonal temperature variation of the bodies of water that walleye occupy has a significant effect on their physiological systems.  The immune system of some fish is affected by temperature.  At higher temperatures the strength and speed of an immune response increases relative to colder temperatures.  This effect of temperature is suspected to occur in walleye due to their response to Walleye Dermal Sarcoma Virus (WDSV) (Bowser, ???).  The virus is contracted in the spring when water temperatures increase.  The following spring the tumors are sloughed off.  It is thought that this response is a result of temperature effects on the walleye immune system.  The present research is attempting to illustrate the effect of temperature on the walleye immune system. Walleye fingerlings injected with 0.33 mg of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) were held at 10C, 15C and 20C for 30 days before bleeding.  An enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) was used to measure serum antibody specific for BSA, from fish held at the different temperatures.  It was found that temperature affected the humoral immune response in walleye.