Behavioral responses of a highly domesticated, predator naïve rainbow trout to chemical cues of predation

Fisheries management agencies allocate significant proportions of available resources to rear fish for stocking in lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. However, domesticated fish reared in a hatchery environment may fail to exhibit normal antipredator behavior and can have relatively low survival when released into natural habitats. Exposing hatchery fish to natural predator cues can provide information about their capacity to exhibit appropriate behavioral responses and has the potential to enhance antipredator behavior and subsequent survival in the wild. We investigated immediate behavioral responses to an acute exposure to chemical cues of predation in highly domesticated, hatchery-reared rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. We used a frequently stocked and economically important strain of rainbow trout, the German Rainbow (GR), which is resistant to whirling disease but particularly susceptible to predation. We exposed individual rainbow trout to alarm cues from conspecifics, kairomones from brown trout Salmo trutta predators, and a combination of the two cues. Fish exposed to these cues exhibited changes in behavior expected to reduce predation risk, including a reduction in time spent actively swimming and exploring, and an increase in time spent frozen. Thus, these highly domesticated, hatchery-reared fish retain the innate ability to express appropriate responses to the threat of predation. Future research should investigate whether repeated exposure to predation cues in a hatchery setting could translate to long-term enhancement of antipredator behavior and increased survival rates, as this would provide a rapid, simple and low cost way to increase the efficiency of stocking programs for recreational purposes and, more importantly, native fish restoration and conservation.