Behaviour, physiology and carotenoid pigmentation in Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus

• Published in: Journal of Fish Biology
• Main Authors: Brännäs, Eva, Nilsson, Jan, Magnhagen, Carin, Backström, Tobias
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Ecology; Forest Science; Arctic; Arctic charr; Salvelinus alpinus
• Online Access: https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/12127/; https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/12127/11/backstrom_t_el_al_150504.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.12240

The behaviour during an exploration task and the response to a confinement stress of Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus were evaluated. Behaviour of individuals during 90 min of exploration was classified into high and low activity. High-activity individuals had higher plasma cortisol levels following stress compared to low-activity individuals. This indicates that high- and low-activity individuals correspond to reactive and proactive stress-coping styles. Further, a pigmentation analysis showed that high-activity individuals had a higher number of carotenoid spots cm(-2) than low-activity individuals. Thus, carotenoid pigmentation, as melanin pigmentation in other salmonids, could be linked to stress-coping style in S. alpinus. (C) 2013 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles