Fish are used in a variety of experimental contexts often in high numbers. To maintain their welfare and ensure valid results during invasive procedures it is vital that we can detect subtle changes in behaviour that may allow us to intervene to provide pain-relief. Therefore, an automated method, the Fish Behaviour Index (FBI), was devised and used for testing the impact of laboratory procedures and efficacy of analgesic drugs in the model species, the zebrafish. Cameras with tracking software were used to visually track and quantify female zebrafish behaviour in real time after a number of laboratory procedures including fin clipping, PIT tagging, and nociceptor excitation via injection of acetic acid subcutaneously. The FBI was derived from activity and distance swum measured before and after these procedures compared with control and sham groups. Further, the efficacy of a range of drugs with analgesic properties to identify efficacy of these agents was explored. Lidocaine (5 mg/L), flunixin (8 mg/L) and morphine (48 mg/L) prevented the associated reduction in activity and distance swum after fin clipping. From an ethical perspective, the FBI represents a significant refinement in the use of zebrafish and could be adopted across a wide range of biological disciplines.

SUMMARYVertebrates display a wide variety of parental care behaviours, including the guarding of offspring pre and post nutritional independence as well as the direct provision of nutrients during the early development period. The Amazonian cichlid Symphysodon spp. (discus fish) is unusual among fish species, in that both parents provide offspring with mucus secretions to feed from after hatching. This extensive provision of care, which can last up to a month, imposes a physiological demand on both parents and gives rise to conflict between the parent and offspring. Here, we investigated the relationship between parents and offspring during a breeding cycle, determining both mucus composition (total protein, cortisol, immunoglobulin, and Na + , K + and Ca 2+ concentrations) and the behavioural dynamics of the parent-offspring relationship. Over the course of a breeding cycle, a significant increase in offspring bite rate was recorded, with a concomitant increase in the frequency of turns the male and female parent took at caring for their young. A peak in mucus antibody provision was seen as offspring reached the free-swimming stage, suggesting a role analogous to colostrum provision in mammals. Mucus protein content was lowest during the second and third weeks of free swimming, and a weaning period, similar to that seen in mammalian parental care, occurred when the offspring had been free swimming for ~3weeks. In many ways, the parental behaviour of discus fish is more similar to mammalian and avian parental care than other fish species, and represents an exciting aquatic model for studying the parent-offspring conflict.

Article (refereed) -postprintPounder, Kieran C.; Mitchell, Jennifer L.; Thomson, Jack S.; Pottinger, Tom G.; Buckley, Jonathan; Sneddon, Lynne U. 2016. Does environmental enrichment promote recovery from stress in rainbow trout?Contact CEH NORA team at noraceh@ceh.ac.ukThe NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner. suggest that enriched environments may be preferable to barren environments in experimental studies.

Aquaculture is a growing multi-billion pound industry facing many challenges. Traditional fish feeding mechanism in today's aquaculture farms stands behind a variety of challenges, including fish welfare, fish growth distribution, environmental effect especially in open ocean cage fish farms, and production cost efficiency. Adaptive smart fish feeder based on fish behaviours is proposed in this paper in order to minimize the effect of the traditional feeding mechanisms. The proposed feeding mechanism interacts, recognizes and responses to fish activities. The proposed smart fish feeder feeds fish based on their request regardless the time of the day. The smart fish feeding aims to minimize food waste and maximize the food conversion ratio (FCR). The proposed system is expected to cause uniform fish growth among individuals within the tank as the feeding depends on fish requests. Fish welfare is expected to be enhanced since there is no food competition and food waste is expected to be less making water good quality last for longer. This paper proposes hardware design of the smart feeder and smart software algorithm. Preliminary results will be discussed in this paper.

No abstract