23rd of May, 13h30 | Amph. C (CP)

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEHAVIOURAL STUDIES IN SENEGALESE SOLE (Solea senegalensis) CULTIVATION

ELVIRA FATSINI FERNÁNDEZ
(UAlg)

Abstract

Senegalese sole is a species that the aquaculture industry has invested on, due to its high growth rate, larval survival and high capacity to adjust to intensive production. However, the lifecycle of this species is not closed in captivity due to a reproductive disorder related to the lack of the participation in the courtship of cultured male breeders. To try to understand the bases of this reproductive disorder three behavioural studies with different approaches were conducted. 1) noticing the effect of the presence of wild breeders in cultured ones, 2) define the dominance behaviour and 3) linking behavioural traits with gene expression in terms of domestication. We showed that cultured male breeders learned to perform the courtship; five behaviours were defined to categorize dominant/subordinate sole related to feeding and territory and two mRNAs (nrd2 and cfos) were differentially expressed between these categories; four transcripts (gapdh2, pparB, Igf-Ia and per1) were differentially expressed among stress coping styles categories (proactive, intermediate, reactive) showing the link between behavioural traits and gene expression in this species.

Short CV

Elvira Fatsini studied Marine Science at the University of Cádiz. After finishing her MSc degree in aquaculture at the University of Valencia and the Polytechnic University of Valencia, she conducted a PhD in animal production related to Senegalese sole in the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) under Dr. Neil J. Duncan supervision. She is currently part of the Aquaculture Research Group of CCMAR, AQUAGROUP in Faro (Portugal) conducting a postdoctoral fellowship under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Elsa Cabrita. She has been involved in several European projects focused on solving the bottleneck related to the control of Senegalese sole reproduction (INIA and CdTI) and reproduction of several new species for aquaculture industry (DIVERSIFY). In Senegalese sole reproduction area, she is mainly studying the conditioning of cultured sole (F1) with reproductive perspectives in captive conditions due to its relevance in the south of Europe. Her research focuses mainly on the effects of different conditioning methods of cultured Senegalese sole juveniles (on growing) on the development of the brain-pituitary-gonad (BPG) axis at different levels. The main objective is to discern the different disruption factors produced by the on growing conditions currently applied in aquaculture facilities (constant photoperiod and temperature). During her years as PhD and MSc student  she has published several articles, participated in several oral presentations in a series of international symposiums and has conducted internships in laboratories in Scotland and Portugal.

Poster