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The Effects of Early Life Experience on Behavioural Development in Captive Fish Species

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The Welfare of Fish

Part of the book series: Animal Welfare ((AWNS,volume 20))

Abstract

Animals that are reared in constant, unchanging environments typically develop abnormal behavioural and cognitive abilities that often result in poor welfare. It is now recognized that the addition of variability through physical and social enrichment has many positive effects for captive populations of fish; these include neural stimulation, improved cognitive skills and the ability to respond to challenging situations adaptively. How fish are housed, the way that they are handled and the changes that they experience with regard to environmental stimulation can, therefore, help promote the development of behaviourally robust fish. These findings are important for a range of contexts; for fish housed and maintained in research labs (e.g. zebrafish), where the development of behaviour and cognitive skills can help create animals that are more suited for biomedical research. For fish reared in hatchery environments where the goal is to release the fish for conservation purposes (e.g. salmonids), here the development of an appropriate behavioural repertoire with the capacity to make appropriate, context-dependent decisions is known to promote post-release survival. Thus understanding how early life experiences shapes and refines adult behaviour helps us to rear fish that are best suited to live and survive in their environments whether captive, or in the wild.

In memory of professor Victoria Anne Braithwaite, who passed away September 30, 2019, after a determined fight against cancer. She was a highly regarded scholar in animal behaviour, especially fish cognition, a greatly appreciated colleague and mentor and a beloved friend. She is deeply missed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Victoria A. Braithwaite

  2. Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Drottningholm, Sweden

    Ida Ahlbeck Bergendahl

Authors
  1. Victoria A. Braithwaite
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  2. Ida Ahlbeck Bergendahl
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Correspondence to Ida Ahlbeck Bergendahl .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway

    Tore S. Kristiansen

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Anders Fernö

  3. Department of Biology, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece

    Michail A. Pavlidis

  4. IMARES, Wageningen University & Research Centre, YERSEKE, The Netherlands

    Hans van de Vis

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Braithwaite, V.A., Ahlbeck Bergendahl, I. (2020). The Effects of Early Life Experience on Behavioural Development in Captive Fish Species. In: Kristiansen, T., Fernö, A., Pavlidis, M., van de Vis, H. (eds) The Welfare of Fish. Animal Welfare, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41675-1_5

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