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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Physiological And Behavioural Evaluation Of Common Anaesthesia Practices In The Rainbow Trout, Kieran C. Pounder, Jennifer L. Mitchell, Jack S. Thomson, Tom G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon Jan 2017

Physiological And Behavioural Evaluation Of Common Anaesthesia Practices In The Rainbow Trout, Kieran C. Pounder, Jennifer L. Mitchell, Jack S. Thomson, Tom G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon

Anesthesia and Analgesia Collection

Anaesthetic drugs are commonly administered to fish in aquaculture, research and veterinary contexts. Anaesthesia causes temporary absence of consciousness and may reduce the stress and/or pain associated with handling and certain invasive procedures. The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a widely-used model species with relevance to both aquaculture and natural ecosystems. This study sought to establish the relative acute impact of commonly used anaesthetics on rainbow trout when used for anaesthesia or euthanasia by exploring their effects on aversion behaviour and stress physiology. Five widely used anaesthetics were investigated at two concentrations reflective of common laboratory practises: MS-222, benzocaine, 2-phenoxyethanol, …


Does Environmental Enrichment Promote Recovery From Stress In Rainbow Trout?, Kieran C. Pounder, Jennifer L. Mitchell, Jack S. Thomson, Tom G. Pottinger, Jonathan Buckley, Lynne U. Sneddon Mar 2016

Does Environmental Enrichment Promote Recovery From Stress In Rainbow Trout?, Kieran C. Pounder, Jennifer L. Mitchell, Jack S. Thomson, Tom G. Pottinger, Jonathan Buckley, Lynne U. Sneddon

Experimental Research and Animal Welfare Collection

The EU Directive on animal experimentation suggests that all protected animals should have enrichment to improve welfare yet relatively little research has been conducted on the impact of enrichment in fish. Studies employing enrichment in zebrafish have been contradictory and all fish species should be provided with species-specific enrichments relevant to their ecology. Salmonids are important experimental models in studies within aquaculture, toxicology and natural ecosystems. This study therefore sought to establish whether an enriched environment in an experimental aquarium may promote improved welfare in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by enhancing their recovery from invasive procedures. Trout were …


Hpi Reactivity Does Not Reflect Changes In Personality Among Trout Introduced To Bold Or Shy Social Groups, Jack S. Thomson, Phillip C. Watts, Tom G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon Jan 2016

Hpi Reactivity Does Not Reflect Changes In Personality Among Trout Introduced To Bold Or Shy Social Groups, Jack S. Thomson, Phillip C. Watts, Tom G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon

Social Behavior Collection

Physiological stress responses often correlate with personalities (e.g., boldness). However, this relationship can become decoupled, although the mechanisms underlying changes in this relationship are poorly understood. Here we quantify (1) how an individual’s boldness (response to novel objects) in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, changes in response to interactions with a population of either bold or shy conspecifics and we (2) measured associated post-stress cortisol levels. Initially-bold trout became shyer regardless of group composition, whereas shy trout remained shy demonstrating that bold individuals are more plastic. Stress-induced plasma cortisol reflected the original personality of fish but not the personality induced …


Environmental Change Alters Personality In The Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Ashley J. Frost, Jack S. Thomson, Charlotte Smith, Hannah C. Burton, Ben Davis, Phillip C. Watts, Lynne U. Sneddon Jun 2013

Environmental Change Alters Personality In The Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Ashley J. Frost, Jack S. Thomson, Charlotte Smith, Hannah C. Burton, Ben Davis, Phillip C. Watts, Lynne U. Sneddon

Sentience Collection

Boldness is a personality trait that defines how individuals respond to risky situations and has clear fitness consequences. Since the adaptive value of boldness is context dependent, the benefit of a distinct personality is less clear when the environment is unpredictable. An ability to modulate behaviour can be beneficial, although as behavioural plasticity itself may be costly this depends on the levels of environmental stability. Both boldness and its plasticity are linked with physiological stress coping mechanisms, whereby animals with reduced glucocorticoid responses to stress are bolder and less flexible in behaviour. We investigated the behavioural changes made by bold …


Plasticity Of Boldness In Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss: Do Hunger And Predation Influence Risk-Taking Behaviour?, Jack S. Thomson, Phillip C. Watts, Tom G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon May 2012

Plasticity Of Boldness In Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss: Do Hunger And Predation Influence Risk-Taking Behaviour?, Jack S. Thomson, Phillip C. Watts, Tom G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon

Ethology Collection

Boldness, a measure of an individual's propensity for taking risks, is an important determinant of fitness but is not necessarily a fixed trait. Dependent upon an individual's state, and given certain contexts or challenges, individuals may be able to alter their inclination to be bold or shy in response. Furthermore, the degree to which individuals can modulate their behaviour has been linked with physiological responses to stress. Here we attempted to determine whether bold and shy rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, can exhibit behavioural plasticity in response to changes in state (nutritional availability) and context (predation threat). Individual trout were initially …


Physiological And Genetic Correlates Of Boldness: Characterising The Mechanisms Of Behavioural Variation In Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Jack S. Thomson, Phillip C. Watts, T. G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon Jan 2011

Physiological And Genetic Correlates Of Boldness: Characterising The Mechanisms Of Behavioural Variation In Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Jack S. Thomson, Phillip C. Watts, T. G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon

Ethology Collection

Bold, risk-taking animals have previously been putatively linked with a proactive stress coping style whereas it is suggested shyer, risk-averse animals exhibit a reactive coping style. The aim of this study was to investigate whether differences in the expression of bold-type behaviour were evident within and between two lines of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, selectively bred for a low (LR) or high (HR) endocrine response to stress, and to link boldness and stress responsiveness with the expression of related candidate genes. Boldness was determined in individual fish over two trials by measuring the latency to approach a novel object. Differences …


Physiological And Genetic Correlates Of Boldness: Characterising The Mechanisms Of Behavioural Variation In Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Jack S. Thomson, Phillip C. Watts, Tom G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon Jan 2011

Physiological And Genetic Correlates Of Boldness: Characterising The Mechanisms Of Behavioural Variation In Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Jack S. Thomson, Phillip C. Watts, Tom G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon

Aquaculture Collection

Bold, risk-taking animals have previously been putatively linked with a proactive stress coping style whereas it is suggested shyer, risk-averse animals exhibit a reactive coping style. The aim of this study was to investigate whether differences in the expression of bold-type behaviour were evident within and between two lines of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, selectively bred for a low (LR) or high (HR) endocrine response to stress, and to link boldness and stress responsiveness with the expression of related candidate genes. Boldness was determined in individual fish over two trials by measuring the latency to approach a novel object. Differences …


Effect Of Noxious Stimulation Upon Antipredator Responses And Dominance Status In Rainbow Trout, Paul J. Ashley, Sian Ringrose, Katie L. Edwards, Emma Wallington, Catherine R. Mccrohan, Lynne U. Sneddon Feb 2009

Effect Of Noxious Stimulation Upon Antipredator Responses And Dominance Status In Rainbow Trout, Paul J. Ashley, Sian Ringrose, Katie L. Edwards, Emma Wallington, Catherine R. Mccrohan, Lynne U. Sneddon

Aquaculture Collection

A potentially painful experience may modify normal behavioural responses. To gauge the importance of pain relative to predation or social status, we presented competing stimuli, a predator cue or an unfamiliar social group, to two groups of noxiously treated rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. In the predator cue experiment, fish were classified as bold or shy. Noxiously stimulated fish did not show antipredator responses, suggesting that pain is the imperative. In the social status experiment, noxiously stimulated fish held individually and undisturbed showed an increase in respiration rate and plasma cortisol. As a comparison, we used the dominant or subordinate fish …


Novel Object Test: Examining Nociception And Fear In The Rainbow Trout, Lynne U. Sneddon, Victoria A. Braithwaite, Michael J. Gentle Oct 2003

Novel Object Test: Examining Nociception And Fear In The Rainbow Trout, Lynne U. Sneddon, Victoria A. Braithwaite, Michael J. Gentle

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

This study aimed to assess fear responses to a novel object while experiencing a noxious event to determine whether nociception or fear will dominate attention in a fish in novel object testing paradigm. This experimentally tractable animal model was used to investigate (1) the degree of neophobia to a novel object while experiencing noxious stimulation, (2) the response of the fish after removing the fear-causing event by using a familiar object, and (3) the effects of removing the nociceptive response by morphine administration and examining the response to a novel object. Control animals displayed a classic fear response to the …


The Bold And The Shy: Individual Differences In Rainbow Trout, L. U. Sneddon Apr 2003

The Bold And The Shy: Individual Differences In Rainbow Trout, L. U. Sneddon

Aquaculture Collection

Boldness and shyness were investigated as ‘personality’ traits in hatchery-reared rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Bold fish spent more time in an open area and were more active than shy fish and these behaviours could be used as indicators of boldness and shyness. These differences were related to learning ability in a simple conditioning task. Bold fish learned the task more quickly than shy fish.