Behavior represents the strategies of an individual to deal with environmental challenges. The ob... more Behavior represents the strategies of an individual to deal with environmental challenges. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of social stress on the temporal consistency of behavior and its relationship with animal well-being and productive performance. This study was conducted at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Panama. A completely randomized design was used with two factors: animal personality (proactive, reactive, intermediate) and feeding conditions (high competition, low competition). Each treatment was evaluated in triplicates. Animal personality traits showed significant differences in latencies for the first escape attempt at the end of the trial (p<0.001). The proactive group showed greater final weight, weight gain, feed conversion rate, and specific growth rate than the mixed and reactive groups (P <0.001, P <0.001; p<0.001; p<0.001, respectively). The percentage of individuals with fin lesions differed significantly according to animal personality (p=0.005). The phenotypes showed a higher percentage of lesions under the high-competition feeding condition (p=0.002). Under the high-competition feeding condition, the proactive and mixed groups showed a higher percentage of fin lesions than the reactive group (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Selection for animal personality traits showed consistent differences in behavior at the end of the trial, which were not affected by feeding conditions. The proactive ones showed better productive performance than the mixed and reactive ones did. The percentage of damage to the fins reflects that the proactive individuals were more likely to suffer injuries, especially in the high-competition feeding condition.
Perspectives and Applications of Indigenous Small Fish in India
Feeding ecology is a broad study encompassing quantification and identification of food items, mi... more Feeding ecology is a broad study encompassing quantification and identification of food items, microbial, chemical, and enzymatic conditions of the fish stomach, morphological adaptations to suit its feeding habit, and foraging strategies for acquiring food items. Understanding the dietary composition of fish has several advantages to culture and fisheries management aspects. This chapter discusses commonly used methods for food and feeding habits, dietary composition, and other aspects of the feeding ecology of selected Small Indigenous fish species (ISFs), i.e., Amblypharyngodon mola, Labeo bata, Puntius sarana, Gudusia chapra, Mystus cavasius, Channa punctatus, Anabus testudineus, Trichogaster fasciata, Nandus nandus and Macrognathus aral. This chapter also discusses the loopholes in the feeding ecology of ISFs. This chapter will serve as an important source of combined information on the food and feeding habits of ISFs.
The Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) in aquaponics is a closed aquaculture system favored by Indones... more The Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) in aquaponics is a closed aquaculture system favored by Indonesian aquaculturists due to its environmental friendliness and can be applied on a small scale. Climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) has the potential to be cultured in this system as small-scale livestock. This research aims to determine the performance of the NFT aquaponics system of Anabas testudineus and Brassica chinensis with different stock densities. A completely randomized design within four stock density treatments and five replications was applied to this study. The results showed that the specific growth rate, survival rate, and feed conversion rate (FCR) of A. testudineus differed significantly across treatments (p < 0.05). The best performance of specific growth rate (1.96 ± 0.15%), FCR (1.31 ± 0.13), and survival rate (88 ± 4.69%) were shown in the second treatment (50 fish/tank). On the other hand, the fourth treatment (100 fish/tank) yielded the tallest B. chinensis at 20.7 ± 0.90 cm and a leaf number of 10.68 ± 0.28. Higher fish stocking density resulted in a slower fish growth rate but a faster plant growth rate. It can be concluded that the aquaponics system of NFT with a density of 50 fish/tank could be applied to small-scale livestock. The amount of organic matter that plant roots can use as nutrients is the factor that determines the growth rate of B. chinensis.
Fish differ consistently in behavior within the same species and population, reflecting distinct ... more Fish differ consistently in behavior within the same species and population, reflecting distinct behavioral types (BTs). Comparing the behavior of wild and reared individuals provides an excellent opportunity to delve into the ecological and evolutionary consequences of BTs. In this work, we evaluated the behavioral variation of wild and reared juvenile gilthead seabreams, Sparus aurata, a highly relevant species for aquaculture and fisheries. We quantified behavioral variation along the five major axes of fish behavioral traits (exploration-avoidance, aggressiveness, sociability, shyness-boldness, and activity) using standardized behavioral tests and a deep learning tracking algorithm for behavioral annotation. Results revealed significant repeatability in all five behavior traits, suggesting high consistency of individual behavioral variation across the different axes in this species. We found reared fish to be more aggressive, social and active compared to their wild conspecifics. Reared individuals also presented less variance in their aggressiveness, lacking very aggressive and very tame individuals. Phenotypic correlation decomposition between behavioral types revealed two different behavioral syndromes: exploration-sociability and exploration-activity. Our work establishes the first baseline of repeatability scores in wild and reared gilthead seabreams, providing novel insight into the behavior of this important commercial species with implications for fisheries and aquaculture.
Identifying Stress Coping Styles (SCS) in new species of interest for aquaculture has important i... more Identifying Stress Coping Styles (SCS) in new species of interest for aquaculture has important implications for its future domestication and adaptation to captivity. Individual variability allows to select the potential positive characteristics for fish production. The main aim of this study was to identify phenotypic individual differences and characterize proactive and reactive SCS in flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) juveniles by exposing fish to different stress situations and evaluating their individual and group responses to level behavioural and physiology. Juveniles were subjected to one group test (risk-taking) and five individual tests (predator, first feeding after stress, restraining, new environment and confinement). All assays were repeated twice, with a one-month interval between tests. Blood samples were taken from each individual (before and after stress) to quantify cortisol and glucose plasma concentrations. Flathead grey mullet juveniles exhibited a high inter-individual variability with two extremes of behaviours: proactive and reactive profiles that were characterized by opposed behavioural (activity time and escape attempts) and physiological (levels of cortisol and glucose) responses to stress and were consistent over time and across contexts. The flathead grey mullet juveniles showed differences in their predisposition for risk taking. Likewise, the Principal Component Analysis showed that three individual stress tests (predator, restraining and confinement tests) were reliable to characterize SCS in this fish species. This work reported for the first time the existence of stress coping styles in M. cephalus juveniles and the selection of a set of reliable behavioural tests to identify phenotypic profiles in flathead grey mullet. These results might be of interest for the aquaculture industry to improve fish welfare and health and to adjust management protocols for rearing this fish species in captivity.
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is one of the worlds most domesticated fish. As production volumes ... more Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is one of the worlds most domesticated fish. As production volumes increase, access to high quality and sustainable protein sources for formulated feeds of this carnivorous fish is required. Soybean meal (SBM) and soy-derived proteins are the dominant protein sources in commercial aquafeeds due to their low-cost, availability and favorable amino acid profile. However, for Atlantic salmon, the inclusion of soybean meal (SBM), and soy protein concentrate (SPC) in certain combinations can impact gut health, which has consequences for immunity and welfare, limiting the use of soy products in salmonid feeds. This study sought to address this challenge by evaluating two gut health-targeted enhancements of SBM for inclusion in freshwater phase salmon diets: enzyme pre-treatment (ETS), and addition of fructose oligosaccharide (USP). These were compared with untreated soybean meal (US) and fish meal (FM). This study took a multi-disciplinary approach, investigating the effect on growth performance, gut microbiome, and behaviors relevant to welfare in aquaculture. This study suggests that both enhancements of SBM provide benefits for growth performance compared with conventional SBM. Both SBM treatments altered fish gut microbiomes and in the case of ETS, increased the presence of the lactic acid bacteria Enterococcus. For the first time, the effects of marine protein sources and plant protein sources on the coping style of salmon were demonstrated. Fish fed SBM showed a tendency for more reactive behavior compared with those fed the FM-based control. All fish had a similar low response to elicited stress, although ETS-fed fish responded more actively than US-fed fish for a single swimming measure. Furthermore, SBM-fed fish displayed lower repeatability of behavior, which may indicate diminished welfare for intensively farmed fish. The implications of these findings for commercial salmonid aquaculture are discussed.
Fish differ consistently in behavior within the same species and population, re ecting distinct b... more Fish differ consistently in behavior within the same species and population, re ecting distinct behavioral types (BTs). Comparing the behavior of wild and reared individuals provides an excellent opportunity to delve into the ecological and evolutionary consequences of BTs. In this work, we evaluated the behavioral variation of wild and reared juvenile gilthead seabreams, Sparus aurata, a highly relevant species for aquaculture and sheries. We quanti ed behavioral variation along the ve major axes of sh behavioral traits (exploration-avoidance, aggressiveness, sociability, shyness-boldness, and activity) using standardized behavioral tests and a deep learning tracking algorithm for behavioral annotation. Results revealed signi cant repeatability in all ve behavior traits, suggesting high consistency of individual behavioral variation across the different axes in this species. We found reared sh to be more aggressive, social and active compared to their wild conspeci cs. Reared individuals also presented less variance in their aggressiveness, lacking very aggressive and very tame individuals. Phenotypic correlation decomposition between behavioral types revealed two different behavioral syndromes: explorationsociability and exploration-activity. Our work establishes the rst baseline of repeatability scores in wild and reared gilthead seabreams, providing novel insight into the behavior of this important commercial species with implications for sheries and aquaculture.
Behavior represents the strategies of an individual to deal with environmental challenges. The ob... more Behavior represents the strategies of an individual to deal with environmental challenges. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of social stress on the temporal consistency of behavior and its relationship with animal well-being and productive performance. This study was conducted at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Panama. A completely randomized design was used with two factors: animal personality (proactive, reactive, intermediate) and feeding conditions (high competition, low competition). Each treatment was evaluated in triplicates. Animal personality traits showed significant differences in latencies for the first escape attempt at the end of the trial (p<0.001). The proactive group showed greater final weight, weight gain, feed conversion rate, and specific growth rate than the mixed and reactive groups (P <0.001, P <0.001; p<0.001; p<0.001, respectively). The percentage of individuals with fin lesions differed significantly according to animal personality (p=0.005). The phenotypes showed a higher percentage of lesions under the high-competition feeding condition (p=0.002). Under the high-competition feeding condition, the proactive and mixed groups showed a higher percentage of fin lesions than the reactive group (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Selection for animal personality traits showed consistent differences in behavior at the end of the trial, which were not affected by feeding conditions. The proactive ones showed better productive performance than the mixed and reactive ones did. The percentage of damage to the fins reflects that the proactive individuals were more likely to suffer injuries, especially in the high-competition feeding condition.
Perspectives and Applications of Indigenous Small Fish in India
Feeding ecology is a broad study encompassing quantification and identification of food items, mi... more Feeding ecology is a broad study encompassing quantification and identification of food items, microbial, chemical, and enzymatic conditions of the fish stomach, morphological adaptations to suit its feeding habit, and foraging strategies for acquiring food items. Understanding the dietary composition of fish has several advantages to culture and fisheries management aspects. This chapter discusses commonly used methods for food and feeding habits, dietary composition, and other aspects of the feeding ecology of selected Small Indigenous fish species (ISFs), i.e., Amblypharyngodon mola, Labeo bata, Puntius sarana, Gudusia chapra, Mystus cavasius, Channa punctatus, Anabus testudineus, Trichogaster fasciata, Nandus nandus and Macrognathus aral. This chapter also discusses the loopholes in the feeding ecology of ISFs. This chapter will serve as an important source of combined information on the food and feeding habits of ISFs.
The Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) in aquaponics is a closed aquaculture system favored by Indones... more The Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) in aquaponics is a closed aquaculture system favored by Indonesian aquaculturists due to its environmental friendliness and can be applied on a small scale. Climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) has the potential to be cultured in this system as small-scale livestock. This research aims to determine the performance of the NFT aquaponics system of Anabas testudineus and Brassica chinensis with different stock densities. A completely randomized design within four stock density treatments and five replications was applied to this study. The results showed that the specific growth rate, survival rate, and feed conversion rate (FCR) of A. testudineus differed significantly across treatments (p < 0.05). The best performance of specific growth rate (1.96 ± 0.15%), FCR (1.31 ± 0.13), and survival rate (88 ± 4.69%) were shown in the second treatment (50 fish/tank). On the other hand, the fourth treatment (100 fish/tank) yielded the tallest B. chinensis at 20.7 ± 0.90 cm and a leaf number of 10.68 ± 0.28. Higher fish stocking density resulted in a slower fish growth rate but a faster plant growth rate. It can be concluded that the aquaponics system of NFT with a density of 50 fish/tank could be applied to small-scale livestock. The amount of organic matter that plant roots can use as nutrients is the factor that determines the growth rate of B. chinensis.
Fish differ consistently in behavior within the same species and population, reflecting distinct ... more Fish differ consistently in behavior within the same species and population, reflecting distinct behavioral types (BTs). Comparing the behavior of wild and reared individuals provides an excellent opportunity to delve into the ecological and evolutionary consequences of BTs. In this work, we evaluated the behavioral variation of wild and reared juvenile gilthead seabreams, Sparus aurata, a highly relevant species for aquaculture and fisheries. We quantified behavioral variation along the five major axes of fish behavioral traits (exploration-avoidance, aggressiveness, sociability, shyness-boldness, and activity) using standardized behavioral tests and a deep learning tracking algorithm for behavioral annotation. Results revealed significant repeatability in all five behavior traits, suggesting high consistency of individual behavioral variation across the different axes in this species. We found reared fish to be more aggressive, social and active compared to their wild conspecifics. Reared individuals also presented less variance in their aggressiveness, lacking very aggressive and very tame individuals. Phenotypic correlation decomposition between behavioral types revealed two different behavioral syndromes: exploration-sociability and exploration-activity. Our work establishes the first baseline of repeatability scores in wild and reared gilthead seabreams, providing novel insight into the behavior of this important commercial species with implications for fisheries and aquaculture.
Identifying Stress Coping Styles (SCS) in new species of interest for aquaculture has important i... more Identifying Stress Coping Styles (SCS) in new species of interest for aquaculture has important implications for its future domestication and adaptation to captivity. Individual variability allows to select the potential positive characteristics for fish production. The main aim of this study was to identify phenotypic individual differences and characterize proactive and reactive SCS in flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) juveniles by exposing fish to different stress situations and evaluating their individual and group responses to level behavioural and physiology. Juveniles were subjected to one group test (risk-taking) and five individual tests (predator, first feeding after stress, restraining, new environment and confinement). All assays were repeated twice, with a one-month interval between tests. Blood samples were taken from each individual (before and after stress) to quantify cortisol and glucose plasma concentrations. Flathead grey mullet juveniles exhibited a high inter-individual variability with two extremes of behaviours: proactive and reactive profiles that were characterized by opposed behavioural (activity time and escape attempts) and physiological (levels of cortisol and glucose) responses to stress and were consistent over time and across contexts. The flathead grey mullet juveniles showed differences in their predisposition for risk taking. Likewise, the Principal Component Analysis showed that three individual stress tests (predator, restraining and confinement tests) were reliable to characterize SCS in this fish species. This work reported for the first time the existence of stress coping styles in M. cephalus juveniles and the selection of a set of reliable behavioural tests to identify phenotypic profiles in flathead grey mullet. These results might be of interest for the aquaculture industry to improve fish welfare and health and to adjust management protocols for rearing this fish species in captivity.
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is one of the worlds most domesticated fish. As production volumes ... more Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is one of the worlds most domesticated fish. As production volumes increase, access to high quality and sustainable protein sources for formulated feeds of this carnivorous fish is required. Soybean meal (SBM) and soy-derived proteins are the dominant protein sources in commercial aquafeeds due to their low-cost, availability and favorable amino acid profile. However, for Atlantic salmon, the inclusion of soybean meal (SBM), and soy protein concentrate (SPC) in certain combinations can impact gut health, which has consequences for immunity and welfare, limiting the use of soy products in salmonid feeds. This study sought to address this challenge by evaluating two gut health-targeted enhancements of SBM for inclusion in freshwater phase salmon diets: enzyme pre-treatment (ETS), and addition of fructose oligosaccharide (USP). These were compared with untreated soybean meal (US) and fish meal (FM). This study took a multi-disciplinary approach, investigating the effect on growth performance, gut microbiome, and behaviors relevant to welfare in aquaculture. This study suggests that both enhancements of SBM provide benefits for growth performance compared with conventional SBM. Both SBM treatments altered fish gut microbiomes and in the case of ETS, increased the presence of the lactic acid bacteria Enterococcus. For the first time, the effects of marine protein sources and plant protein sources on the coping style of salmon were demonstrated. Fish fed SBM showed a tendency for more reactive behavior compared with those fed the FM-based control. All fish had a similar low response to elicited stress, although ETS-fed fish responded more actively than US-fed fish for a single swimming measure. Furthermore, SBM-fed fish displayed lower repeatability of behavior, which may indicate diminished welfare for intensively farmed fish. The implications of these findings for commercial salmonid aquaculture are discussed.
Fish differ consistently in behavior within the same species and population, re ecting distinct b... more Fish differ consistently in behavior within the same species and population, re ecting distinct behavioral types (BTs). Comparing the behavior of wild and reared individuals provides an excellent opportunity to delve into the ecological and evolutionary consequences of BTs. In this work, we evaluated the behavioral variation of wild and reared juvenile gilthead seabreams, Sparus aurata, a highly relevant species for aquaculture and sheries. We quanti ed behavioral variation along the ve major axes of sh behavioral traits (exploration-avoidance, aggressiveness, sociability, shyness-boldness, and activity) using standardized behavioral tests and a deep learning tracking algorithm for behavioral annotation. Results revealed signi cant repeatability in all ve behavior traits, suggesting high consistency of individual behavioral variation across the different axes in this species. We found reared sh to be more aggressive, social and active compared to their wild conspeci cs. Reared individuals also presented less variance in their aggressiveness, lacking very aggressive and very tame individuals. Phenotypic correlation decomposition between behavioral types revealed two different behavioral syndromes: explorationsociability and exploration-activity. Our work establishes the rst baseline of repeatability scores in wild and reared gilthead seabreams, providing novel insight into the behavior of this important commercial species with implications for sheries and aquaculture.
Uploads
Papers by John Smith