Effects of different handling methods on the behavior of adult zebrafish

Shishis, Stephanie; Tsang, Benjamin; Ren, Gary J

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114106

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Ram cichlids were found to swim with a speed between 1.5 and 2.8 cm/s. Whereas similarly sized adult zebrafish have been found to swim with a speed between 5 and 7 cm/s 28 or even faster (5–10 cm/s), e.g., in a learning study 47 . Ram cichlids, unlike zebrafish, also stopped more frequently, stayed immobile longer and turned more, giving the subjective impression of a fish that explores its environment and attends to its features.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ram cichlid (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) learns an associative task: a new fish species for memory research

Tsang,

Venditti,

Javier

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fish are the most species rich and evolutionarily oldest vertebrate taxon. This represents opportunities for biologists who intend to employ laboratory animals in their comparative or translational research. Yet, the overwhelming majority of such studies use a single fish species, the zebrafish, a suboptimal strategy from the comparative standpoint. Neuronal plasticity (learning and memory) is perhaps one of the most complex biological phenomena from a mechanistic standpoint, and thus its analysis could benefit from the use of evolutionarily ancient and simple vertebrate model organisms, i.e., fish species. However, learning & memory research with the zebrafish has been replete with problems. Here, we employ a novel fish species, the ram cichlid, we argue will be particularly appropriate for this purpose for practical as well as ethological/ecological reasons. First, we investigate whether the ram cichlid exhibits innate preference for certain colours (red, blue, yellow or green) in a four-choice task, the plus maze. Subsequently, we pair the apparently least preferred colour (green, the conditioned stimulus or CS) with food reward (the unconditioned stimulus, US) in the plus maze, a CS–US associative learning task. After eight pairing trials, we run a probe trial during which only the CS is presented. At this trial, we find significant preference to the CS, i.e., acquisition of memory of CS–US association. We argue that our proof-of-concept study demonstrating fast acquisition of CS–US association in the ram cichlid, coupled with the universal utility of some genome editing methods, will facilitate the mechanistic analysis of learning and memory.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ram cichlid (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) learns an associative task: a new fish species for memory research

Tsang,

Venditti,

Javier

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The principal component scores (PCS) are calculated using Equations ( 18) and (19). The contribution rate of the principal components to the original data is calculated from the eigenvalues in Equation (20).…”

Section: Behavioral Characteristic Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been established that handing methods and environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, environmental enrichment, etc., affect multiple locomotion endpoints in animals [19][20][21][22]. The locomotor behavior of zebrafish larvae and adults is primarily influenced by temperature [23][24][25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Variability in Zebrafish Larvae Locomotor Behavior across Experimental Conditions: A Learning-Based Tracker

Zhang,

Chai,

et al. 2024

Fishes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study investigated the effects of environmental changes on zebrafish larval behavior, using single-factor and orthogonal experiments to assess locomotion during temperature and pH changes. In single-factor experiments, zebrafish larvae were exposed to variations in temperature (22 to 30 °C) and pH levels (6.0, 7.0, 9.0). The simultaneous temperature and pH changes were investigated by orthogonal tests. In both experiments, each zebrafish larva was recorded in three 5 min videos at different stages (before exposure, during short-term exposure (10 min), and after long-term exposure (60 min)). You Look Only Once (YOLOv5) and Deep Simple Online Real Time Tracking (DeepSORT) models were adopted to develop a zebrafish larva tracking system, and YOLOv5 was improved in two aspects of anchor clustering and network structure. The tracking accuracy of the tracking system for small targets effectively improved, reaching more than 98% MOTA (Multiple Object Tracking Accuracy). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was employed to extract three behavioral features from 13 motion parameters, namely motion activity, edge behavior, and motion direction preference. Our findings reveal that lower temperatures and acidic conditions both led to a decrease in motion behavioral activity, and the former also increased edge behavior. Conversely, elevated temperatures and alkaline conditions had a muted impact on these behaviors. Interestingly, concurrent changes in temperature and pH significantly altered directional preference. Additionally, we observed that lower temperatures elicited distinct temporal behavioral patterns at a constant pH level. In summary, we recommend the precise control and explicit reporting of ambient temperature and pH in both breeding devices and experimental wells to minimize the environmental impact on zebrafish behavior and enhance experiment repeatability and reliability.

show abstract

“…Shorter chase and air‐exposure times are a more realistic representation of normal zebrafish husbandry. Except for a very recent study showing behavioural effects of short handling events (<15 s) (Shishis et al ., 2023), there is a literature gap on whether these shorter handling events also affect stress‐related endpoints. Furthermore, although the acute stress response to handling has been studied elaborately, literature concerning the chronic effects of repeated handling events is lacking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic handling stress in zebrafish Danio rerio husbandry

Philippe

Vergauwen

Huyghe

et al. 2023

Journal of Fish Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The zebrafish (Danio rerio, Hamilton, 1822) is one of the most important fish model species in scientific research, with millions of fish housed in laboratory animal facilities around the world. During husbandry, it is necessary to regularly handle the fish, which could cause short-and long-term stress, possibly affecting both fish welfare and experimental outcomes. In two experiments, the authors studied effects of transferring adult zebrafish, by chasing them with a net and/or exposing them to air (netting) on different endpoints: cortisol levels, reproduction parameters and behavioural parameters. They used realistic chase and air-exposure times to mimic normal zebrafish husbandry and investigated the potential to habituate to handling stressors.Finally, the potential welfare improvements of a nutritional reward after handling were studied. All types of handling induced a stress response, but the authors did not find a correlation with the intensity of the stressor. Realistic (short) handling routines also caused stress, both after the first time and after regular handling over a long period of time. Cortisol levels peaked after 15 min, were still elevated after 30 min and dropped to resting level after 60 min. This should be taken into account by researchers when carrying out measurements or behavioural trials within an hour after handling. There is a minor potential benefit of nutritional rewards that may contribute to a faster recovery of normal behaviour. They did not find evidence of habituation to chasing and netting stress. Taking the stress response after handling into consideration will improve fish welfare and health and minimise husbandryassociated sources of variation.

show abstract

Effects of different handling methods on the behavior of adult zebrafish

Cited by 9 publications

References 50 publications

The ram cichlid (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) learns an associative task: a new fish species for memory research

The ram cichlid (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) learns an associative task: a new fish species for memory research

Quantifying Variability in Zebrafish Larvae Locomotor Behavior across Experimental Conditions: A Learning-Based Tracker

Chronic handling stress in zebrafish Danio rerio husbandry

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About