Organization of Exploratory Behavior in Danio rerio (Hamilton 1822, Cyprinidae) in a Maze

Abstract

To find out whether fish are capable of spontaneous alternation, which indicates the ability to memorize the path traveled in a cruciform maze lacking reference points, an experiment with zebrafish Danio rerio (Cyprinidae) was performed. Some individuals exhibited a high level of spontaneous alternation, but the average value for all fish did not differ from the random one of 44.4%. Zebrafish did not use memory of the traveled path in the maze. It has been shown that fish used stable strategies of exploratory behavior in the maze: traveling in the maze over the perimeter and shuttle transitions between two arms of the maze. Correlation analysis revealed that the higher the percentage of rounds, the higher the level of spontaneous alternation, and the higher the percentage of shuttle transitions, the lower the level of alternation. Thus, the high level of alternation observed in some individuals may be explained by the high percentage of rounds. In addition, we did not find any asymmetrical preference of zebrafish to turn left or right side on leaving an arm of the maze. No influences of the arm length on spontaneous alternation and the strategies of exploratory behavior were revealed.