Individual Variations and Coping Style

Individuality really matters for fish welfare

“…For instance, thresholds for employing active (proactive) and passive (reactive) responses under stressful situations are individually variable, and complex gene-environment interactions affects the occurrence and stability of welfare relevant trait correlations in these cases (Johansen et al. 2020 ). Therefore, key components of a stress coping style are subject to great individual and heritable variation, and such specific trait characteristics may directly influence the welfare of fishes (Johansen et al.…”

“…Therefore, key components of a stress coping style are subject to great individual and heritable variation, and such specific trait characteristics may directly influence the welfare of fishes (Johansen et al. 2020 ).…”

Looking beyond the Shoal: Fish Welfare as an Individual Attribute

“…Consistent individual differences in behavior have been characterized as animal personalities [ 50 ] or temperaments [ 51 ]. When personality traits are correlated with one another, they are called behavioral syndromes [ 52 ] and, when associated with differences in physiology, are referred to as stress coping styles [ 3 , 4 , 53 , 54 ]. Regardless of the favored nomenclature [ 55 ], the important point is that such consistent differences are widespread and strongly impact individual animal welfare [ 40 , 56 ].…”

“…Researchers exploring fish personality and individual behavioral variation have examined the behavior of individual fishes with regard to aggression [ 57 ], the proactive-reactive coping styles [ 54 ], and the bold-shy axis [ 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 ]. Fishes’ personality traits intersect with the way they cope with their environments [ 3 ] and hence, impact their welfare under captive conditions [ 62 , 63 ] For instance, in Atlantic salmon kept at high density, the personality traits aggressiveness and risk-taking, or boldness, are related and impact fish welfare [ 63 ].…”

“…The welfare impacts of a reactive coping style depend on the environmental conditions at the time, as behavioral inhibition can be an adaptive coping strategy during chronic, unpredictable, or uncontrollable situations. It is clear that the threshold for when a stressor shifts from inhibitory to one that warrants proactive responses like aggression is individual in nature [ 54 , 65 ]. The aquaculture industry is attempting to accommodate for variation in personality and behavior and the resulting individual welfare needs by, for example, developing and using demand feeding devices [ 66 , 67 , 68 ].…”