Linking risk taking and the behavioral and metabolic responses to confinement stress in gilthead seabream Sparus aurata

Risk taking and avoidance responses during confinement have been identified in a variety of species, including fish. In addition, differences in metabolic rate have also been attributed to divergent personalities, coping styles or behavioral types. In this study we disclose for the first time a link between risk taking and the behavioral responses and oxygen consumption under confinement stress in the gilthead seabream Sparus aurata. Fish were submitted to a risk-taking test twice to determine the consistency of behavioral responses. Afterwards fish were transferred to individual confinement chambers where their swimming activity and oxygen consumption were measured. Latency to take risks was negatively correlated to both movement and oxygen consumption rates, indicating that risk-avoiders (long latency) were less active and, hence, did not consume so much oxygen as risk-takers. In conclusion, this work reports the first data on the links between risk-taking and the behavioral responses and oxygen consumption during a confinement stress in fish. The relationships between behavioral and physiological variables are significant, suggesting the existence of divergent coping styles in gilthead seabream.