Abstract
Simple SummaryLiving space is an important aspect of animal welfare. Understanding the effects of welfare on experimental animals would help in drawing a precise conclusion. In this work, zebrafish in different tank sizes were studied through behavioral and physiology tests. Results showed that changes in the tank size affected zebrafish behavior; those that lived in small tanks behaved less boldly, had poor stamina, and spent much time on movement. Therefore, researchers should focus on zebrafish’s living space to generate valid data from laboratory studies.Environmental conditions strongly affect experimental animals. As a model organism, zebrafish has become important in life science studies. However, the potential effect of living environment on their behavior and physiology is often overlooked. This work aimed to determine whether tank size affects zebrafish behavior and physiology. Tests on shelter leaving, shelter seeking, shoaling, stamina, and pepsin and cortisol levels were conducted. Results showed that zebrafish behavior is easily affected by changes on the tank size. Fish that lived in small tanks behaved less boldly, had poor stamina, and spent much time on movement. Sex differences in behavior were only evident in the shelter seeking tests. Tank size had no effect on pepsin and cortisol, but cortisol concentrations in males were lower than those in females. This study suggests that zebrafish behavior is easily influenced by their living environment, and future related studies should consider their living space.
Highlights
Experimental animals play an important role in science [1]
This study aims to investigate the influence of tank size on the behavior and physiology of zebrafish
Changes in the tank size could affect zebrafish behavior, and those living in small tanks behaved less boldly and had poor stamina
Summary
Experimental animals play an important role in science [1]. Enrichment can be beneficial for experimental animals held in captivity [2,3], but not in all cases [4,5]. Poor animal welfare may affect scientific validity and repeatability of experiments [6]. The size of living space influences animal welfare [7]. Small enclosures trigger repetitive and invariant behaviors in some experimental animals. Captive animal welfare may improve their health and natural behavior expression [6] Small enclosures trigger repetitive and invariant behaviors in some experimental animals. [8,9,10].
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