Neuromorphological and behavioural effects of early developmental exposure to alarm cue on captive-reared Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar )
Behavioural plasticity plays an important role in an organism's ability to adapt to captive settings, but a lack of perceived predation risk during early development in captivity can lead to diminished anti-predator behaviours. Here, we used Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar) to test whether early...
| Published in: | Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2022-0100 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjfas-2022-0100 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjfas-2022-0100 |
| Summary: | Behavioural plasticity plays an important role in an organism's ability to adapt to captive settings, but a lack of perceived predation risk during early development in captivity can lead to diminished anti-predator behaviours. Here, we used Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar) to test whether early developmental exposure to alarm cues (pre-exposure) led to (1) a developmentally plastic response to alarm cue in yearling and (2) an observable change in neural investment. We exposed fry to either a conspecific alarm cue (pre-exposed fish) or control water (non-exposed fish) and measured activity related to anti-predator behaviour such as time spent motionless, number of aggressive acts, and time spent associated with shelter. We found no indication of a developmentally plastic response to early alarm cue exposure, but we found that pre-exposed fish developed relatively smaller olfactory bulbs compared to non-exposed fish. Our results demonstrate the importance of and ability to exploit plastic responses in captive-reared Atlantic salmon and highlight the need to link behaviour with neuromorphological changes. |
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