Change in stingray behaviour and social networks in response to the scheduling of husbandry events

Georgia Murphy, Joanna Newbolt, Holly Farmer*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Husbandry tasks are often carried out at the same time and in the same manner every day, resulting in the potential for them to become predictable to animals. An unpublished study conducted on a mixed species enclosure of blue-spotted ribbontail rays (Taeniura lymma) and blue-spotted maskrays (Neotrygon kuhlii), reported increased intra and interspecies aggression preceding training sessions that took place at a fixed time. The current study monitored the behavioural responses of the rays to training events, when training was carried out on either a predictable or an unpredictable schedule. Overall, incidences of aggression on days when training occurred were lower than when no training took place; however, aggression rates varied according to the schedules of training and group composition. Increased activity levels before a training session suggest anticipation of this event. Comparison of social networks for aggressive interactions between conditions showed species and individual differences in aggression. However, these differences may have been in response to a change in social composition of the group in the middle of the study and not due to differences in study conditions. This study will inform management practice by highlighting the importance of husbandry regimes on animal behaviour.IntroductionThe implementation of positive reinforcement training (PRT) can be a highly beneficial management technique used to improve the welfare of captive animals (Corwin 2012). Captive enclosures are often smaller than an animal’s natural range and therefore it may not be possible to avoid other individuals or escape from agonistic interactions (Henningsen et al. 2004; Sapolsky 2005). For species known to perform aggression in such captive environments, during key events or life stages, PRT can be implemented to help manage situations; however, the majority of research into the effect of training focuses on mammalian species. As zoos and aquariums aim to maintain high standards of animal welfare, elevated levels of aggression may be deemed an indicator of reduced welfare when compared to typical behavioural repertoires. Training can be used to reduce aggression (Corwin 2012), but in aquarium tanks housing highly dominant individuals, further management techniques may be required, such as the implementation of cooperative feed training. The technique reinforces dominant animals to allow feeding by subordinate animals, with subordinate animals receiving food-based reinforcement for feeding and socially accepting the more dominant individual (Laule and Desmond 1998). Cooperative feeding is adopted in a range of captive environments, commonly in public aquaria, to allow all individuals in a group to gain access to food and reduce aggressive interactions. When PRT becomes an established part of animal husbandry, the training sessions may be scheduled at a particular time of day. As is the case with other husbandry events, such as feeding, scheduled husbandry can become part of a predictable routine. Predictability can be temporal or signalled, relating to the reliability of the timing of events or the cues before events respectively (Bassett and Buchanan-Smith, 2007) and can affect animal behaviour and welfare. Much of the research on this topic has been conducted on the temporal predictability of feeding times, and predictable feeding schedules have been found to have a number of different behavioural effects in a
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Zoo and Aquarium Research
Volume7
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Oct 2019

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Change in stingray behaviour and social networks in response to the scheduling of husbandry events'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this