The Institute of Marine Research is the authorities’ centre of expertise for animal welfare in the fisheries and aquaculture industry. The Animal welfare research group will play a central role in building up our knowledge and developing methods in this area.
Theoretical foundations of the field of animal welfare in aquatic organisms:
- Stress and stressors
- Acute and chronic stress, effects, tolerance thresholds and areas
- Behavioural and physiological stress responses and control mechanisms
- Measurement and modelling of behavioural and physiological responses and costs related to environmental changes
Coping and coping styles:
- Behavioural control mechanisms, including learning and cognitive abilities
- Individual variation: behavioural, physiological and neurobiological mechanisms
- Effects of developmental environment and genetics on development and coping
- Natural behavioural requirements.
Monitoring welfare in the fisheries and aquaculture industries:
- Physical and social environment
- Anthropogenic stress and stressors
- Behaviour and physiology
- Operational indicators of welfare (positive and negative)
- Monitoring methods and technology with associated expert systems
- Evaluation of new technology and alternative procedures.
Collaboration with other groups
Health research group:
- Relationships between stress level and health/disease
- Effects of chronic and acute stress on immunocompetence and the immune response
- Effects of parasites and infections on behaviour and welfare
- Effects of vaccination on behaviour and welfare (also with the Growth and reproduction research group)
Marine genome and population genetics research group:
- Molecular biological methods for validating stress and other physiological responses
- Molecular biological methods for identifying individuals with specific characteristics
- Consequences of domestication for welfare
- Genetic background of behaviour and coping styles in farmed fish
Reproduction and growth research group:
- Effects of environmental stress on normal development and growth
- Consequences for behaviour and welfare of early sexual maturation
- Consequences for behaviour and welfare of the use of artificial light
- Relationships between fish welfare/stress/coping level and growth/development
- Relationships between learning, motivation, growth and welfare
Early life stages research group:
- Effects of developmental environment in early life stages on coping, growth and development
Fish capture research group:
- Animal welfare in fisheries and fish capture-based aquaculture
Other inter-group collaborative efforts:
- Ecological and behavioural modelling in large groups
Acting research group manager: Tore Kristiansen, +47 920 69 918
