Title |
Tactile stimulation lowers stress in fish
|
---|---|
Published in |
Nature Communications, November 2011
|
DOI | 10.1038/ncomms1547 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Marta C. Soares, Rui F. Oliveira, Albert F.H. Ros, Alexandra S. Grutter, Redouan Bshary |
Abstract |
In humans, physical stimulation, such as massage therapy, reduces stress and has demonstrable health benefits. Grooming in primates may have similar effects but it remains unclear whether the positive effects are due to physical contact or to its social value. Here we show that physical stimulation reduces stress in a coral reef fish, the surgeonfish Ctenochaetus striatus. These fish regularly visit cleaner wrasses Labroides dimidiatus to have ectoparasites removed. The cleanerfish influences client decisions by physically touching the surgeonfish with its pectoral and pelvic fins, a behaviour known as tactile stimulation. We simulated this behaviour by exposing surgeonfish to mechanically moving cleanerfish models. Surgeonfish had significantly lower levels of cortisol when stimulated by moving models compared with controls with access to stationary models. Our results show that physical contact alone, without a social aspect, is enough to produce fitness-enhancing benefits, a situation so far only demonstrated in humans. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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United Kingdom | 5 | 12% |
Spain | 3 | 7% |
United States | 3 | 7% |
Norway | 2 | 5% |
Canada | 1 | 2% |
Finland | 1 | 2% |
Japan | 1 | 2% |
Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | 2% |
Unknown | 26 | 60% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 29 | 67% |
Scientists | 13 | 30% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 2% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Portugal | 4 | 2% |
Austria | 1 | <1% |
Australia | 1 | <1% |
United Kingdom | 1 | <1% |
United States | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 166 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 33 | 19% |
Student > Master | 32 | 18% |
Student > Bachelor | 26 | 15% |
Researcher | 25 | 14% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 12 | 7% |
Other | 26 | 15% |
Unknown | 20 | 11% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 96 | 55% |
Environmental Science | 14 | 8% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 7 | 4% |
Neuroscience | 7 | 4% |
Psychology | 5 | 3% |
Other | 18 | 10% |
Unknown | 27 | 16% |