Feeding rank and brain serotonergic activity in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

Two methods for assessing the status of an individual rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss within a group hierarchy, radiographic determination of individual food intake and analysis of brain serotonergic activity, were compared. The results showed that individual food intake, measured as the average share of the group meal, and brain serotonergic activity, measured as brain levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) or as 5-HIAA/5-HT (serotonin) ratios, were inversely correlated with each other, suggesting that both methods could be used as indicators of the position of the rainbow trout in a dominance hierarchy. In addition, specific growth rate correlated significantly with brain 5-HIAA/5-HT ratios. The results indicate that the increase in brain 5-HIAA/5-HT ratios in subordinate individuals is caused by an increased use (release) of 5-HT in these fish, and not by an increase in the level of tryptophan, the amino acid precursor of 5-HT. The relationships between social rank, food intake, growth, stress and brain serotonergic activity of fish in a social hierarchy are discussed.