Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Animal Sciences

Zebra finch

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Finding A Link Between Circadian Rhythms And The Immune System Of Captive Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia Guttata), Amber Bishop Jun 2017

Finding A Link Between Circadian Rhythms And The Immune System Of Captive Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia Guttata), Amber Bishop

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Circadian rhythms are commonplace in organisms and are normally controlled by a master clock. More recent evidence suggests that autonomous clocks operate in various systems in the body, including the immune system. This study looks for such a connection between the circadian rhythm and the immune system. In this study, captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) were exposed to different light and dark cycles and blood samples were taken every six hours. Birds were exposed to 12 hours of light and then 12 hours of darkness (LD), 24 hours of darkness (DD), or 48 hours of DD. After collecting …