Predictability of food supply, but not ration, increases exploratory behaviour in zebrafish Danio rerio

Abstract

Individual zebrafish Danio rerio were assayed for exploratory tendency in a serial open field test before and after being maintained on one of four diet treatments that differed in ration and in predictability of food delivery. Danio rerio became more exploratory after being maintained on a diet with a predictable delivery schedule. There was no effect of ration. Thus, exploratory behaviour is inducible by environmental influences independent of genetic predisposition or social interactions. These results have implications for management of correlated behavioural syndromes of exploratory and boldness of animals reared in captivity for later release into wild populations.

Corrigendum to “Unpredictability in food supply during early life influences growth and boldness in European seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax” [Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 180 (July) (2016) 147–156]

“…Chapman et al, (2010) found that Trinidadian guppies, Poecilia reticulata, reared under conditions of unpredictable food supply spent less time in a refuge zone than fish reared with a predictable food supply and similar findings have been reported for juvenile cod, Gadus morhua (Braithwaite and Salvanes, 2005). Opposite results were however observed in zebrafish, Danio rerio (Holley et al, 2014). Here, our first objective was to assess how food predictability was affecting boldness in seabass.…”

The effects of an obesogenic diet on behavior and cognition in zebrafish (Danio rerio): Trait average, variability, repeatability, and behavioral syndromes

“…For instance, the positive relationship between body size and boldness (an aspect of proactiveness) has been well documented in various species of fish (Brown & Braithwaite, 2004 ; Brown, Jones, & Braithwaite, 2007 ; Harris et al, 2010 ; Meuthen et al, 2019 ). Furthermore, it is also possible that patterns of feeding (e.g., frequency or schedule) rather than diet per se could influence exploration in zebrafish (Holley et al, 2014 ; Le Roy et al, 2021 ).…”

The effects of an obesogenic diet on behaviour and cognition in zebrafish (Danio rerio): traits average, variability, repeatability, and behavioural syndromes

“…For instance, the positive relationship between body size and boldness (an aspect of proactiveness) has been well documented in various species of fish (Brown & Braithwaite, 2004;Brown, Jones, & Braithwaite, 2007;Harris et al, 2010;Meuthen et al, 2019). Furthermore, it is also possible that patterns of feeding (e.g., frequency or schedule) rather than diet per se could influence exploration in zebrafish (Holley et al, 2014;Le Roy et al, 2021).…”