Meeting Abstract
Early rearing environment can have a lasting impact on sensory systems and social behavior. Here, we asked whether previous experience has a similar impact on adult behavior of zebrafish (Danio rerio). We housed groups of six adult fish in either an empty aquarium or in an enriched physical context with plastic vegetation and clay pots. After 30 days, we assayed each group in two novel arenas (an empty aquarium and an enriched physical context) and used an optomotor assay to test visual response. Fish with previous experience in the enriched physical context shoaled more closely together and chased each other more frequently than fish that were housed in an empty arena. Fish with previous experience in the enriched physical context also responded more vigorously to the optomotor assay than did fish that had been housed in an empty arena. These effects depended, in part, on the assay context and sex. The previous experience effect on shoaling was more pronounced when assayed in the enriched physical context, whereas the previous experience effect on aggression was more pronounced in the empty testing arena. Taken together these results suggest that previous experience affects both visual response and social behavior in adult zebrafish.
