title: Characterization of stress coping style in Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) juveniles and breeders for aquaculture.
abstract: The aim of this work was to characterize stress coping styles of Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) juveniles and breeders and to select an operational behavioural screening test (OBST) that can be used by the aquaculture industry to classify and select between behavioural phenotypes in order to improve production indicators. A total of 61 juveniles and 59 breeders were subjected to five individual behavioural tests and two grouping tests. At the end of the individual tests, all animals were blood sampled in order to measure cortisol, glucose and lactate. Three tests (restraining, new environment and confinement) characterized the stress coping style behaviour of Senegalese sole juveniles and breeders and demonstrated inter-individual consistency. Further, the tests when incorporated into a principal components analysis (PCA) (i) identified two principal axes of personality traits: 'fearfulness-reactivity' and 'activity-exploration', (ii) were representative of the physiological axis of stress coping style, and (iii) were validated by established group tests. This study proposed for the first time three individual coping style tests that reliably represented proactive and reactive personalities of Senegalese sole juveniles and breeders. In addition, the three proposed tests met some basic operational criteria (rapid testing, no special equipment and easy to apply and interpret) that could prove attractive for fish farmers to identify fish with a specific behaviour that gives advantages in the culture system and that could be used to establish selection-based breeding programmes to improve domestication and production.
authors.affiliation: IRTA, Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Carretera de Poble Nou, km 5.5, 43540 Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona, Spain; CENIT, Centro Nayarita de Innovación y Transferencia de Tecnología, Av. Emilio M. González s/n., CP 63173. Tepic, México.
authors.forename: Z
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0850-7207
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ibarra-Zatarain
authors.affiliation: IRTA, Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Carretera de Poble Nou , km 5.5, 43540 Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona , Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fatsini
authors.affiliation: Institute of Aquaculture , University of Stirling , Stirling, Scotland FK9 4LA , UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rey
authors.affiliation: Spanish Institute of Oceanography, Santander Oceanographic Centre , Promontorio San Martín, s/n. PO 240, 39004 Santander , Spain.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Chereguini
authors.affiliation: Spanish Institute of Oceanography, Santander Oceanographic Centre , Promontorio San Martín, s/n. PO 240, 39004 Santander , Spain.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Spanish Institute of Oceanography, Santander Oceanographic Centre , Promontorio San Martín, s/n. PO 240, 39004 Santander , Spain.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rasines
authors.affiliation: IRTA, Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Carretera de Poble Nou , km 5.5, 43540 Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona , Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2147-4796
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alcaraz
authors.affiliation: IRTA, Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Carretera de Poble Nou , km 5.5, 43540 Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona , Spain.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Duncan
keywords: Solea senegalensis; animal personality; behavioural syndromes; exploratory behaviour; operational behavioural screening test; stress coping styles