Animal Welfare, Volume I: Animal Welfare in Aquaculture - Physiological Basis and Recent Findings

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Background

This Research Topic is part of the Animal Welfare series which aim to investigate the physiological aspects of animal welfare:
- Volume I: Animal Welfare in Aquaculture - Physiological Basis and Recent Findings
- Volume II: Using Bio-sensing Devices to Assess Farm Animal Welfare

Research interest in animal welfare has progressively grown for the last 10 years, particularly in farmed animals. The generation of a vast knowledge in studies from mammals and birds have promoted a deeper understanding of this topic in aquatic animals, mainly the cultured ones due to their close interaction with humans. Currently, farmers and consumers agree that keeping a suitable fish and shellfish welfare in aquaculture facilities derives in higher yield and improved product quality, as well as to a better consumer's perception. However, the knowledge of welfare in aquatic farmed species is not so advanced compared to terrestrial species. Indeed, there is current a gap in knowledge regarding welfare issues in fish, molluscs and crustaceans, including the physiological mechanisms involved in the stress response and how dietary or zootechnical interventions may modulate it. Since animal welfare is a complex and multi-faceted subject which requires a multidisciplinary approach, more in depth research works are needed for a better understanding of the relationships, for instance, between welfare and physiological processes.

Knowledge on animal welfare under farming conditions is still scarce; there is a significant lack of specific legislation and standardized technical procedures in order to keep an acceptable welfare level for aquatic animals in the whole production cycles. Therefore, a much deeper understanding on the physiology of aquatic farmed species for establishing methods to assess the animal welfare in aquaculture is a key and necessary issue. The goal of this topic is to gather recent and innovative studies on the welfare of farmed aquatic animals from a physiological perspective and whenever possible providing a holistic approach on the organism, in order to establish both specific and general physiological basis of all aspects related to their welfare for the whole production cycle.

Since farmed aquatic animal species can be highly diverse, this Research Topic would be limited to articles or reviews involving the most common and important groups: fish, molluscs (especially cephalopods) and crustaceans. The complexity of welfare issues allows studies from multidisciplinary approaches, and thus many disciplines related and derived from physiology can be included in the present research topic (e.g., immunology, reproduction, endocrinology, metabolism). In this sense, studies on new stress/welfare assessments based on physiological markers are welcome, as well as those focusing on the improvement and/or modulation of animal welfare. For instance, the physiological stress alleviation through functional feeds, and the use of non-invasive methods for measuring stress biomarkers. Studies on physiological processes associated to immunological and endocrine responses to pathologies or poor health/welfare are also welcome. Research on behavioral traits and indicators related to welfare issues may also be suited if it also involves physiological mechanisms, such as studies on coping styles.

Keywords: Aquaculture, stress, welfare, physiology, fish

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