Journal Article
Captivity-induced behaviour and spatial learning abilities in an enigmatic, aquifer-dwelling blind eel, Rakthamichthys digressus
Vasan, T., Das, P., Varma, V., Tiwari, A., Prakash, A., Manilal, D., Thomas, L., Arjun, C.P., Philip, S., Raghavan, R. and Binoy, V.V.
Record Number:
5411
Year:
2021
Journal:
bioRxiv preprint
Volume:
448170
Notes:
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
Abstract:
We investigated the impact of captive life on behaviour and learning abilities in an enigmatic, aquifer-dwelling blind eel, Rakthamichthys digressus. Of eight major behavioural traits related to exploration and activity in a novel arena, four were significantly altered by life in captivity. While the startle response upon introduction into the arena and overall swimming away from the walls increased after captivity, inactivity exhibited immediately after the startle and the reaction to an external disturbance decreased. We also observed behavioural syndromes between ‘startle responses’ and ‘horizontal wall following’, and between ‘overall activity’ and ‘vertical wall following’; however, these behavioural syndromes were not altered by maintenance in captivity. Interestingly, this blind-eel failed to learn a simple spatial task in a Y-maze apparatus. Captive-associated behavioural changes in R. digressus may influence their survival after reintroduction into natural habitats, and such changes must be taken into account while developing protocols for ex-situ conservation and subsequent release.
Times Cited:
3
Relevent Species:
Rakthamichthys digressus (Gopi 2002) Britz, Dahanukar, Standing, Philip, Kumar and Raghavan 2020Rakthamichthys roseni (Bailey and Gans 1998) Britz, Dahanukar, Standing, Philip, Kumar and Raghavan 2020Rakthamichthys rongsaw (Britz, Sykes, Gower and Kamei 2018) Britz, Dahanukar, Standing, Philip, Kumar and Raghavan 2020