Abstract
How animals integrate different sensory information for orientation is a complex process involving interactions between a variety of internal and external factors. Due to this complexity, each component of a suite of factors is typically studied in isolation. Here, we examine how an internal factor (personality of fish) influences the response of zebrafish (Danio rerio) to the magnetic field, while swimming in a flow chamber. Our previous work demonstrated that the orientation to the water current (rheotaxis) of zebrafish individuals is influenced by variations of the magnetic field only when fish are part of a shoal. In this study, we evaluated the rheotactic behavior of 20 fish, grouped in shoals of “proactive” or “reactive” individuals, under magnetic fields of different directions. We found that the magnetic field influenced at which water speed rheotaxis was elicited in zebrafish with “reactive” personality, but not in those with “proactive” personality. These results suggest that fish personality influences response to or weighing of sensory inputs and provides some insight on the variation in behavioral responses to environmental stimuli in both laboratory and natural settings.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Claudia Angelini (Applied Calculus Inst., CNR, Italy) for the statistical support, and the departmental technicians F. Cassese, G. Passeggio, and R. Rocco for their skillful assistance in the design and realization of the experimental setup. We thank Dr. Joseph E. Serafy for critically reviewing the manuscript and providing helpful suggestions.
Funding
The study was supported by the Basic Research Founding of the Physics Department and the Biology Department of the Naples University Federico II.
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A.C. proposed the original hypothesis of the study and designed it together with C.A.; he participated to data analysis and drafted the manuscript. R.DR. participated to the study design and was responsible of the theoretical and experimental aspects of the magnetic field manipulation. M.S. and S.F. performed the experiments, collecting, and analyzing the experimental data. C.A. conceived the study together with A.C., designed and coordinated the study, and helped draft the manuscript. N.P. participated in results evaluation and helped draft the manuscript. All authors gave final approval for publication.
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All animal procedures and experiments were aimed to minimize the number of animals used to test the focal hypothesis and were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (CESA) of the University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
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Cresci, A., De Rosa, R., Fraissinet, S. et al. Zebrafish “personality” influences sensitivity to magnetic fields. acta ethol 21, 195–201 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-018-0292-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-018-0292-9