Characterization of the different behaviours exhibited by juvenile flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758) under rearing conditions

• Jimenez-Rivera, Jessica A. ^[1] ; Boglino, Anaïs ^[5] ; Linares-Cordova, Joel F. ^[2] ; Duncan, Neil J. ^[6] ; Ruiz-Gómez, María L. ^[3] ; Rey-Planellas, Sonia ^[4] ; Ibarra-Zatarain, Zohar ^[7]
  1. [1] Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit

     Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit

     México

     
  2. [2] Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa

     Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa

     México

     
  3. [3] Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México

     Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México

     México

     
  4. [4] University of Stirling

     University of Stirling

     Reino Unido

     
  5. [5] Nayarit Centre for Innovation and Technological Transference (CENITT), 63173 Tepic, Mexico
  6. [6] IRTA, 43540 Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona, Spain
  7. [7] CONACYT-UAN-Nayarit Centre for Innovation and Technological Transference (CENITT), 63173 Tepic, Mexico

  Mostrar afiliaciones +
• Localización: Spanish journal of agricultural research, ISSN-e 2171-9292, ISSN 1695-971X, Vol. 20, Nº. 4, 2022
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo (pdf)
• Resumen

  • Aim of study: To describe the common behaviour of flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) under rearing conditions.

    Area of study: Tepic, Mexico.

    Material and methods: Behaviours exhibited by mullets were videorecorded with submersible cameras installed inside of three tanks. A total of 690 min per day (07:30 - 18:30 h) were recorded per tank during a week. Afterwards, the different behaviours exhibited by juvenile M. cephalus were described, identified and characterized in an ethogram and grouped into two categories: a) locomotion, including three different observed behaviours (resting, swimming and fast swimming) and b) feeding, including three behaviours (surface feeding, bottom feeding and rubbing). Each of the behavioural variables were quantified.

    Main results: M. cephalus is a species with a constant locomotion associated to feeding, since fish showed continuous movement during most of day light period. On the contrary, fish exhibited reduced movement during dark periods. Mullets were observed to be a non-aggressive fish species under conditions of the present study, since the absence of dominance and aggression towards conspecifics was observed, which suggested a high predisposition for adaptation to captivity. Finally, behavioural frequencies of grey mullet juveniles were similar among the three tanks for most of the behavioural variables analysed (p>0.05) except for the variable bottom feeding (p=0.02).

    Research highlights: Results from this study could be of interest for the aquaculture industry to optimize rearing techniques and welfare for the production of grey mullet.