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Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2014

Behaviour, physiology and carotenoid pigmentation in Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus

Brännäs, Eva; Nilsson, Jan; Magnhagen, Carin; Backström, Tobias

Abstract

The behaviour during an exploration task and the response to a confinement stress of Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus were evaluated. Behaviour of individuals during 90 min of exploration was classified into high and low activity. High-activity individuals had higher plasma cortisol levels following stress compared to low-activity individuals. This indicates that high- and low-activity individuals correspond to reactive and proactive stress-coping styles. Further, a pigmentation analysis showed that high-activity individuals had a higher number of carotenoid spots cm(-2) than low-activity individuals. Thus, carotenoid pigmentation, as melanin pigmentation in other salmonids, could be linked to stress-coping style in S. alpinus. (C) 2013 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles

Keywords

activity; confinement stress; stress-coping style

Published in

Journal of Fish Biology
2014, Volume: 84, number: 1, pages: 1-9
Publisher: WILEY-BLACKWELL