Effects of aversive experience on the behavior within a custom-made plus maze in the short-tailed fruit bat, Carollia perspicillata

Abstract

Stress exposure evokes a variety of physiological and behavioral responses in an organism, enabling it to cope with stressful situations and changes in the environment. In a previous study, we found that subjecting individuals of Carollia perspicillata to a chronic immobilization stress paradigm resulted in a significant increase of fecal cortisol concentrations. In the present study, we investigated the influence of stress on the behavior of C. perspicillata, by adapting a commonly used behavioral paradigm for characterizing coping styles of animals (i.e., the elevated-plus maze) to bats. Adult bats were subjected 1 h/day to immobilization over a period of 10 days. On the subsequent day, the behavior of each animal was analyzed in a custom-made plus maze, consisting of four arms (two open and two enclosed ones) and designed 3D because of the bats' ability to fly. In this newly invented design, we compared the behaviors of stressed animals and controls. Changes in locomotor and exploratory behavior suggest two divergent adaptive behaviors in C. perspicillata following the chronic stress paradigm, possibly indicating different stress coping styles.

Morphological Correlates of Personality in Female Asian Particolored Bats (Vespertilio sinensis)

“…The Spix's disc-winged bat (Thyroptera tricolor) within social groups exhibits consistent individual differences in vocal behavior [38,39]. The isolated behaviors of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) are not necessarily correlated with socially oriented behaviors [40][41][42]. These previous studies confirmed that bats have distinct personality traits, but the relationships between personality and body size remain unclear.…”

An automated psychoacoustic testing apparatus for use in cats

“…Additionally, most of the reported procedures require removal of the animal from its usual living cage (home cage) to a special laboratory, which has been shown to impose additional stress on the animals (Elliott et al, 1960, Carlstead et al, 1993, Duke et al, 2001, Balcombe et al, 2004. Increased stress is associated with impaired memory, attention, and locomotor activity (Ammersdörfer et al, 2012), all of which are likely to impact performance.…”

Protocolo De Manejo De Morcegos Frugívoros Neotropicais Em Cativeiro

“…A literatura relata diversos estudos que utilizaram tal técnica (ESBÉRARD; BERGALLO, 2004;SCHMIDT-FRENCH;GILLAM;FENTON, 2006;SNYDER et al, 2015). Já na RIOZOO os morcegos são mantidos em fotoperíodo invertido (ESBÉRARD, 2003), técnica bastante utilizada em laboratórios (AMMERSDORFER;GALINSKI;ESSER, 2012;FERNANDEZ et al, 2014). Mas para um recinto ao ar livre, a iluminação ambiente é a mais constante (RIEK; KÖRTNER; GEISER, 2010).…”