The behavioral and physiological responses of juvenile large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) to different types of predator stimuli

IF 2 2区农林科学 Q1 AGRICULTURE, DAIRY & ANIMAL SCIENCE

Applied Animal Behaviour Science Pub Date : 2025-08-16 DOI:10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106789

Bowen Feng , Qiming Jia , Tianhao Zhu , Xinhui Yu , Ming Fang , Zhiyong Wang , Kai Liu

{"title":"The behavioral and physiological responses of juvenile large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) to different types of predator stimuli","authors":"Bowen Feng , Qiming Jia , Tianhao Zhu , Xinhui Yu , Ming Fang , Zhiyong Wang , Kai Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106789","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Predator recognition is crucial for the survival of fish, enabling effective anti-predator responses and avoids survival disadvantages caused by inappropriate reactions. Thus, incorporating predator recognition training into stock enhancement programs can enhance post-release survival rates of juvenile fish by reinforcing these innate survival mechanisms. While chemical cues are often emphasized in fish anti-predator studies, the roles of visual cues and multimodal sensory integration remain understudied in marine fish. To clarify the recognition mechanism of predator signals by juvenile large yellow croaker (<em>Larimichthys crocea</em>), this study systematically compared the effects of stimulus type (visual, chemical, coupled) and stimulus level (low, medium, high) on anti-predator behavior and plasma cortisol levels. The behavioral analysis results showed that the main effect of stimulus type was significant (<em>p</em> < 0.001), and visual cues mainly triggered immediate anti-predator behavior. The induced freezing time was significantly higher than that of other stimuli (<em>p</em> < 0.05), and the freezing time and the vertical movement time decreased significantly with the increase in visual cue (<em>p</em> < 0.05). The physiological results indicated that there was an interaction effect between stimulus type and stimulus level in cortisol levels (<em>p</em> < 0.001). Under the low-level of coupled cues, cortisol levels were significantly higher (34.57 ± 0.71 ng/mL, <em>p</em> < 0.001) than those under single-modal cue (visual: 21.12 ± 4.37 ng/mL, <em>p</em> < 0.01; chemical: 23.73 ± 1.84 ng/mL, <em>p</em> < 0.05), demonstrating that low-level coupled cues can synergistically enhance physiological stress responses. These findings highlight the important role of visual cues in predator recognition in the multi-sensory integration mode of juvenile <em>L. crocea</em>. These results provide a theoretical basis for sensory training of proliferated and released species, especially by incorporating coupled cue training into proliferation plans aimed at increasing population numbers. By synergistically enhancing the young fish's perception of predation risks, it has application value for optimizing breeding practices and improving the survival rate of released fish.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8222,"journal":{"name":"Applied Animal Behaviour Science","volume":"292 ","pages":"Article 106789"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Animal Behaviour Science","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159125002874","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"AGRICULTURE, DAIRY & ANIMAL SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Predator recognition is crucial for the survival of fish, enabling effective anti-predator responses and avoids survival disadvantages caused by inappropriate reactions. Thus, incorporating predator recognition training into stock enhancement programs can enhance post-release survival rates of juvenile fish by reinforcing these innate survival mechanisms. While chemical cues are often emphasized in fish anti-predator studies, the roles of visual cues and multimodal sensory integration remain understudied in marine fish. To clarify the recognition mechanism of predator signals by juvenile large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea), this study systematically compared the effects of stimulus type (visual, chemical, coupled) and stimulus level (low, medium, high) on anti-predator behavior and plasma cortisol levels. The behavioral analysis results showed that the main effect of stimulus type was significant (p < 0.001), and visual cues mainly triggered immediate anti-predator behavior. The induced freezing time was significantly higher than that of other stimuli (p < 0.05), and the freezing time and the vertical movement time decreased significantly with the increase in visual cue (p < 0.05). The physiological results indicated that there was an interaction effect between stimulus type and stimulus level in cortisol levels (p < 0.001). Under the low-level of coupled cues, cortisol levels were significantly higher (34.57 ± 0.71 ng/mL, p < 0.001) than those under single-modal cue (visual: 21.12 ± 4.37 ng/mL, p < 0.01; chemical: 23.73 ± 1.84 ng/mL, p < 0.05), demonstrating that low-level coupled cues can synergistically enhance physiological stress responses. These findings highlight the important role of visual cues in predator recognition in the multi-sensory integration mode of juvenile L. crocea. These results provide a theoretical basis for sensory training of proliferated and released species, especially by incorporating coupled cue training into proliferation plans aimed at increasing population numbers. By synergistically enhancing the young fish's perception of predation risks, it has application value for optimizing breeding practices and improving the survival rate of released fish.

查看原文本刊更多论文

大黄鱼幼鱼对不同捕食者刺激的行为和生理反应

捕食者识别对鱼类的生存至关重要，它能使鱼类做出有效的反捕食者反应，避免因反应不当而导致的生存劣势。因此，将捕食者识别训练纳入种群增强计划可以通过强化这些先天生存机制来提高幼鱼的放生后存活率。虽然化学线索在鱼类反捕食者研究中经常被强调，但视觉线索和多模态感觉整合在海洋鱼类中的作用仍未得到充分研究。为了阐明大黄鱼幼鱼对捕食者信号的识别机制，本研究系统比较了刺激类型（视觉、化学、耦合）和刺激水平（低、中、高）对其反捕食者行为和血浆皮质醇水平的影响。行为分析结果显示，刺激类型的主效应显著（p <； 0.001），视觉线索主要触发即时反捕食行为。诱导冻结时间显著高于其他刺激（p <； 0.05），冻结时间和垂直运动时间随视觉线索的增加而显著降低（p <； 0.05）。生理结果显示刺激类型和刺激水平对皮质醇水平有交互作用（p <； 0.001）。的低级下耦合信号,皮质醇水平显著高于( 34.57±0.71  ng / mL, p & lt; 0.001)比single-modal线索(视觉:21.12 ±4.37  ng / mL, p & lt; 0.01;化学：23.73 ± 1.84 ng/mL, p <； 0.05)，表明低水平耦合的线索可以协同增强生理应激反应。这些发现强调了视觉线索在鳄鱼幼鱼多感觉整合模式中对捕食者识别的重要作用。这些结果为在繁殖和释放物种中进行感官训练提供了理论依据，特别是将耦合线索训练纳入旨在增加种群数量的繁殖计划中。通过协同增强幼鱼对捕食风险的感知，对优化养殖方式，提高放生鱼的成活率具有应用价值。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Applied Animal Behaviour Science 农林科学-行为科学

CiteScore

4.40

自引率

21.70%

发文量

191

审稿时长

18.1 weeks

期刊介绍： This journal publishes relevant information on the behaviour of domesticated and utilized animals. Topics covered include: -Behaviour of farm, zoo and laboratory animals in relation to animal management and welfare -Behaviour of companion animals in relation to behavioural problems, for example, in relation to the training of dogs for different purposes, in relation to behavioural problems -Studies of the behaviour of wild animals when these studies are relevant from an applied perspective, for example in relation to wildlife management, pest management or nature conservation -Methodological studies within relevant fields The principal subjects are farm, companion and laboratory animals, including, of course, poultry. The journal also deals with the following animal subjects: -Those involved in any farming system, e.g. deer, rabbits and fur-bearing animals -Those in ANY form of confinement, e.g. zoos, safari parks and other forms of display -Feral animals, and any animal species which impinge on farming operations, e.g. as causes of loss or damage -Species used for hunting, recreation etc. may also be considered as acceptable subjects in some instances -Laboratory animals, if the material relates to their behavioural requirements