Vertically suspended environmental enrichment improves the rearing performance of fish during aquaculture production, but the reason for this improvement is unclear. This study documented the behavior of groups of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), as indicated by their in-tank location preferences, in response to vertically suspended structure. The location of both experienced and naïve fish (with or without prior exposure to vertically suspended enrichment) in both barren and enriched tanks was recorded. In-tank locations were significantly different for experienced fish in both barren and enriched tanks but were similar for naïve fish. When observations were combined for both the presence and absence of enrichment, naïve fish locations were significantly different from experienced fish. Locations were also significantly different for all fish in enriched compared to barren tanks. These results indicate that trout location is influenced by the presence of vertically suspended environmental enrichment and that learning from prior experience with enrichment occurs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.