2025/12/01 by Nimisha Chathooth, Muhammed Sinan Malik, Dhanusha Sivarajan +2 · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
paper · doi:10.1080/03949370.2025.2563566
openalex publication_date 2025/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/12/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15
All organisms, including humans, engage in behavioral choices and complex decision-making processes, which are crucial for survival. The mechanisms underlying behavioral choices require the acquisition of information through the perceptual system and the flexibility in assessing potential costs and benefits to optimize adaptive responses in survival contexts, decision-making processes, such as escaping from threats or approaching prey, are significantly influenced by the perception of predatory and prey-related stimuli. The plasticity of behavioral traits is thus governed by a complex interplay between metabolic state and extrinsic factors. Nutritional status plays a critical role in modulating these decisions, with hunger often driving increased conspecific aggression and risk-taking behavior. It is known that small black dots in zebrafish (Danio rerio) can cause prey capture-related reactions based on an individual’s ability to detect the object in relation to its size. This study tried to examine whether the nutritional status of zebrafish including, the well-fed state and the hunger state influences approach and risk-taking behaviour. As expected, results revealed that zebrafish in a starved condition approach the stimuli more frequently than well-fed individuals. When zebrafish were exposed to their sympatric predator, they exhibited avoidance behavior toward both the predator and the prey-like stimuli under normal feeding conditions. However, under hunger-induced conditions, zebrafish demonstrated a significant shift in behavior, displaying increased risk-taking by approaching the prey-like dots despite the concurrent presence of the predator on the same side. This modulation in decision-making is driven by shifts in predatory-prey perception induced by hunger, wherein the balance between survival risk and nutritional benefit dictates behavioral outcomes. Our findings provide evidence that hunger alters behavioral decision-making by shifting responses from avoidance to approach, thereby influencing the trade-off between risk aversion and foraging behavior in zebrafish.