Towards Fish Welfare in the Presence of Robots: Zebrafish Case

Abstract

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) have emerged as a valuable animal model for neurobehavioral research, particularly in the study of anxiety-related states. This article explores the use of conceptual models to investigate stress, fear, and anxiety in zebrafish induced by bio-inspired mini-robotic fish with different components and designs. The objective is to optimize robotic biomimicry and its impact on fish welfare. Previous studies have focused on externally controlled fish models, whereas this study introduces prototypes of freely actuated swimming robots to examine interactions between a bio-inspired robot and individual zebrafish. By means of analysis of behavioral responses, certain robotic components have been identified as potential causes of anxiety in fish, which have provided insights that may be applicable to other species and future aquacultural robot designs.