title: Behavioural response in paired food choice experiments with Oniscus asellus (Crustacea, Isopoda) as an indicator of different food quality.
abstract: This paper describes a study of behavioural response in terrestrial isopod Oniscus asellus when offered two food pellets of different quality. One group had a choice of sterilised food and food pellets covered with mould. The other group had a choice of uncontaminated and cadmium-dosed food. During the behavioural test, the animals were monitored by a video camera and each visit to food pellets and time spent around it was counted. The results show that animals spent significantly less time near sterilised and cadmium-dosed food than with uncontaminated or mould-covered food. Discrimination between offered food pellets showed that avoidance behaviour can be used as an indicator of different food quality.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia. primoz.zidar@uni-lj.si
authors.forename: Primoz
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zidar
authors.forename: Ulf Iskender
authors.initials: UI
authors.lastname: Kaschl
authors.forename: Damjana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Drobne
authors.forename: Janko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bozic
authors.forename: Jasna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Strus
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005506:Food Contamination; D005658:Fungi; D033321:Isopoda; D018675:Toxicity Tests
chemical_list: D002104:Cadmium