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Jeroen Stevens presents Poster 74 during the poster sessions in the Aula.
Session theme 6: Free topics
146
Poster 74
THE EFFECT OF BEHAVIOURAL ENRICHMENT ON THE BEHAVIOUR
OF A SCHOOL OF ARCHER FISH (TOXOTES JACULATRIX)
J.M.G. Stevens 1 , R. Goos 2 , W. Van der Elst 1 , H. Vervaecke 2
1 Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
2 Kaho Sint Lieven/ Association University of Louvain, Agro- & Biotechnology, Ethology Group, Sint Niklaas,
Belgium
Environmental enrichment is commonly applied to increase the welfare of zoo animals. While
much attention in enrichment studies goes to large mammals, enriching the lives of the lower
vertebrates has received less attention. Providing archer fish with live prey is common practice in
many zoos and aquaria, primarily as an educative display, but it may also enrich the lives of the fish
involved. The actual impact on the behaviour and welfare of these fish is still unknown.
We evaluated the effect of feeding live crickets on the behaviour of a school of archer fish (N=25)
at Antwerp Zoo. We compared the behaviour of the school of fish on 5 test day conditions (live
crickets are fed) to that of 5 days of control conditions (no crickets fed). We used randomization
sampling and Monte Carlo simulations to analyse the data, in blocs of 30 minutes.
The enrichment was effective in enticing the fish to spit. Up to 53 spitting bouts were recorded in
the first 5 minute interval. Spitting continued at high rate up to 30 min post-feeding. Hereafter,
spitting fluctuated around about 10 bouts per 5 minute interval. Even 150 min post feeding, spitting
was still observed. In non-enriched conditions, aggressions occurred at a rate of about 9.7
aggressions per 5 minute interval. In the enriched condition, this was 4.4 aggressions per 5 minute
interval. Detailed statistical analyses showed a significant decrease of aggression during the 2
observation blocks of 30 minutes (p