Smolt experiment at Ims
NOTE: THIS EXPERIMENT WAS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED AS FOTS ID 8530. HOWEVER, WE HAD TO POSTPONE THE EXPERIMENT DUE TO LOGISTIC REASONS AND 8530 HAS RUN OUT, REQUIRING A NOVEL APPLICATION. THIS APPLICATION IS AN EXACT RESUBMISSION OF FOTS 8530, WITH TWO MINOR ALTERATIONS: 1. USING ELECTROFISHING RATHER THAN A TRAP, 2. USING A CONFINEMENT STRESS RATHER THAN A NETTING STRESS. ALTERATIONS ARE WRITTEN IN CAPITAL LETTERS TO HELP YOU FIND THE ALTERATIONS QUICKLY.
Every year, millions of hatchery-reared (HR) Atlantic salmon are released into Norwegian rivers for restocking purposes. Unfortunately, there is a high post-release mortality of HR fish, which is not only a financial concern but, more importantly, a welfare concern. A lot of research has indicated that HR fish show less efficient key behaviours (e.g. foraging, antipredator) compared to wild conspecifics, indicating differences in cognitive capacity.
The present study will use histological and molecular techniques to assess the expression of two neuropeptides in brains of HR and wild fish in response to a stressor (CONFINEMENT stress), to gain a deeper insight in the differences in cognitive capacity between wild and HR fish. We hypothesize that neuropeptide expression will differ between HR and wild fish, reflecting their differences in cognitive ability. Further, stress is known to reduce brain growth in fish, and we predict that brain growth of stressed wild fish will be more depressed compared to stressed HR fish.
Every year, millions of hatchery-reared (HR) Atlantic salmon are released into Norwegian rivers for restocking purposes. Unfortunately, there is a high post-release mortality of HR fish, which is not only a financial concern but, more importantly, a welfare concern. A lot of research has indicated that HR fish show less efficient key behaviours (e.g. foraging, antipredator) compared to wild conspecifics, indicating differences in cognitive capacity.
The present study will use histological and molecular techniques to assess the expression of two neuropeptides in brains of HR and wild fish in response to a stressor (CONFINEMENT stress), to gain a deeper insight in the differences in cognitive capacity between wild and HR fish. We hypothesize that neuropeptide expression will differ between HR and wild fish, reflecting their differences in cognitive ability. Further, stress is known to reduce brain growth in fish, and we predict that brain growth of stressed wild fish will be more depressed compared to stressed HR fish.