Psychological Stress and Welfare in Fish. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5016/1806-8774.2009v11p1

Abstract

The ability to respond to stress is vital to the survival of any living organism, though sustained reactions can become detrimental to the health and welfare of animals. Stress responses of vertebrates are known through several studies in their physiological, behavioural and psychological components, under acute and chronic contexts. In fish, the physiological and behavioural aspects of stress are considerably well known phenomena and show striking similarities to those of other vertebrates. However, the psychological component is not well known. Some authors deny mental experiences to fish on the basis of their lack of neocortex. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown neuroendocrine, cognitive and emotional processes in fish that are not only equivalent to other vertebrates, but also allow inferring some forms of mental representation. The integration of psychological elements in fish stress physiology is insufficiently studied, but, as discussed in this article, there is already indirect evidence to admit that some form of stimuli appraisal can take place in fish. This fact has profound implications on the regulation of the stress response, as well as on fish welfare and its management.