No evident effect of domestication on the anti-predator behaviour of European abalone (Haliotis tuberculata): implications for stock enhancement programs
Chauvaud, P.; Day, R.; Roussel, S. (2021). No evident effect of domestication on the anti-predator behaviour of European abalone (Haliotis tuberculata): implications for stock enhancement programs. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 244: 105470. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105470
In: Applied Animal Behaviour Science. Elsevier: Tokyo; Oxford; New York; Amsterdam. ISSN 0168-1591; e-ISSN 1872-9045, more
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| Keywords |
Haliotis tuberculata Linnaeus, 1758 [WoRMS]
Marine/Coastal |
| Author keywords |
Haliotis tuberculata; Behaviour; Predation; Domestication; Breeding; Stock-enhancement |
| Authors | | Top |
- Chauvaud, P.
- Day, R.
- Roussel, S.
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| Abstract |
Stock-enhancement programs for the European abalone (Haliotis tuberculata) might be an efficient way to restore collapsed natural populations or preserve fishing activities. Specifically, this practice consists of releasing hatchery-reared juveniles from wild or farmed broodstock into natural environments. However, the process of selection and adaptation to farming conditions may result in domestication, thus leading to genetic and behavioural changes in farmed animals. Therefore, evaluating the effects of the domestication process on juveniles is a critical first step toward the development of successful abalone stock-enhancement programs. To this end, the behaviour and survival of sixteen-month-old H. tuberculata juveniles from wild and from farmed broodstock (the product of three generations of shell-length based selection) were compared. We used three assays at different spatial and temporal scales: (1) short-term responses to simulated contact with predators, (2) the activity pattern in the presence of a natural predator (the velvet crab Necora puber) in aquariums during a 2-week trial, and (3) survival in large mesocosms in the presence of predators during a 3-week trial. No significant effects of the broodstock origin of the juveniles were detected on any of the studied parameters (P > 0.05). In addition, the estimated size effects were small compared to the overall mean for most of the variables, suggesting that the domestication process was too recent to induce important behavioural changes in juveniles from farmed broodstock. |
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