Animal welfare: What are the relationships between physiological and behavioural measures of adaptation?

• Published in: Productions animales (Paris. 1988) 2007-01, Vol.20 (1), p.29-34
• Main Authors: Richard, S, Auperin, B, Bolhuis, JE, Geverink, NA, Jones, B C, Lepage, O, Mignon-Grasteau, S, Mormede, P, Prunet, P, Beaumont, C
• Format: Article
• Language: fre
• Subjects: Freshwater; Marine
• ISSN: 0990-0632

Assessing the behavioural adaptation of an animal to its environment is complex, notably because numerous criteria can be taken into consideration. A better understanding of the relationships between criteria, particularly between behavioural and physiological responses, might help reduce the number of parameters required to assess animal welfare. The existence of relationships between behavioural and physiological responses of animals to potentially threatening situations has been suggested both by studies comparing animals reared in different environments and by those comparing animals with extreme genotypes. Moreover, the identification of coping styles in various species has strengthened the idea that physiological and behavioural responses could be related, although the precise laws governing such relationships are still difficult to establish and generalise. Thus, considering the complexity of these relationships, it appears reasonable to consider these two groups of responses as partially independent and as giving complementary information about animal welfare. In the future, the development of complex trait analyses as well as investigation at the level of the brain should improve understanding of the relationships between physiological and behavioural responses.Original Abstract: La multiplicite des criteres susceptibles d'etre utilises pour evaluer l'adaptation comportementale d'un animal a son environnement a motive l'etude des relations entre reponses physiologiques et comportementales, dans l'espoir que l'identification de telles relations puisse simplifier l'evaluation du bien-etre animal. La comparaison d'animaux places dans des environnements differents et la comparaison d'animaux aux genotypes extremes suggerent l'existence de relations entre certaines reponses physiologiques et comportementales. La possibilite de categoriser certains animaux selon leur strategie de reponse adaptative, caracterisee par des associations repetables entre reponses comportementales et physiologiques, conforte cette hypothese. Cependant, les relations ainsi suggerees semblent difficilement generalisables : il n'existe pas de relation univoque entre les reponses physiologiques et comportementales d'un animal face a une situation percue comme menacante. En l'etat actuel des connaissances, la prise en compte de maniere concomitante de criteres physiologiques et comportementaux est essentielle pour apprecier le bien-etre d'un animal. A l'avenir, des investigations