Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-21-2024
Abstract
Research on the behaviour of animals in zoos has been conducted for decades, and observations have provided information that has improved the psychological and social well-being of animals. However, research on fishes in zoos and aquariums seems to be lacking. Here, we assess the current state of research on fishes in zoos and aquariums by surveying the peer-reviewed literature. Our assessment differs from previous surveys in that we examine the taxonomic classes Chondrichthyes (sharks and rays) and Osteichthyes (bony fishes) separately. Our survey finds that bony fishes have been drastically underrepresented in zoo journals, more drastically than chondrichthyans, revealing an urgent need for zoos and aquariums to conduct research on the behaviour of the bony fishes in their care to ensure a positive state of psychological and social wellbeing. We conclude that data-driven analyses of fish behaviour could aid in the development of evidence-based practices that enhance the well-being of bony fishes in zoos and aquariums, just as they already do for terrestrial animals.
Language
English
Publication Title
Animal Sentience
Rights
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an Open Access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Oldfield, Ronald G., "Psychological and Social Well-Being of Bony Fishes in Zoos and Aquariums (Ii)" (2024). Faculty Scholarship. 1252.
https://commons.case.edu/facultyworks/1252
Manuscript Version
Final Publisher Version