Flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) juveniles exhibit consistent proactive and reactive stress coping styles
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Author
Linares-Cordova, Joel Fitzgerald
Rey-Planellas, Sonia
Boglino, Anaïs
Jimenez-Rivera, Jessica A.
Rodriguez-Montes de Oca, Gustavo Alejandro
Ibarra-Zatarain, Zohar
Publication date
2023-08-22ISSN
0044-8486
Abstract
Stress coping styles (SCS) are defined as a coherent set of individual physiological and behavioural differences in stress responses that are consistent across context and over time. Nowadays, an increased attention has been paid to fish welfare in aquaculture production and to consistent behavioural response to stress in captivity, since these aspects present direct implications on fish health, quality and farming productivity. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the differences between proactive and reactive stress coping styles and their consistency over time and across contexts in flathead grey mullet Mugil cephalus juveniles reared in captivity. Fish were submitted to two runs of a set of behavioural tests, with a four-months interval: one group test (risk-taking test) and three individual tests (restraining, predator and confinement tests), followed by the quantification of blood cortisol and glucose concentrations (control and post-stress). Results confirmed the existence of proactive and reactive SCS in mullet juveniles and demostrated that behavioural responses in most of the tests were consistent over time (between runs) and across contexts (among tests). Fish that crossed from the safe to the risky area in the risk-taking test also displayed higher activity and escape attempts and lower basal levels of cortisol and glucose than fish than did not cross. This work reported for the first time the consistency of stress coping styles over time and across contexts in M. cephalus juveniles. Due to the increased interest in understanding adaptive mechanisms underlying consistent individual behaviours in response to stressful situations, are of interest for the aquaculture industry to improve productive performance of this fish species. Further studies are required to investigate how different selective pressures might influence the expression and consistency of SCS over time and across contexts.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Accepted version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
637 - Produce of domestic (farmyard) animals and game
Pages
36
Publisher
Elsevier
Is part of
Aquaculture
Citation
Linares-Cordova, Joel Fitzgerald, Sonia Rey-Planellas, Anaïs Boglino, Jessica A. Jimenez-Rivera, Neil J. Duncan, Gustavo Alejandro Rodriguez-Montes de Oca, and Zohar Ibarra-Zatarain. 2024. "Flathead Grey Mullet (Mugil Cephalus) Juveniles Exhibit Consistent Proactive And Reactive Stress Coping Styles". Aquaculture 578: 740012. doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2023.740012.
Program
Aqüicultura
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2555]
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