Courtney Graham

Ontario Veterinary College · Clinical Studies

Curiosity—the motivation to seek out information—has been studied widely across the animal kingdom. To investigate curiosity in zebrafish we presented 30 novel objects to groups of zebrafish housed in semi-naturalistic tanks (6 tanks; 10 fish/tank; 10-min presentations). During the first 100 s and final 100 s of each object's 10-min presentation pe...

Simple Summary Despite increasing interest in fish welfare, we still know very little about positive emotions in fish. This study had two aims: (1) to characterize a previously undescribed social behavior in zebrafish, “heightened-shoaling”, and (2) to evaluate whether heightened-shoaling may be a good candidate for future research into positive em...

Cognitive stimulation has been shown to be rewarding and capable of eliciting positive emotions in several species. In contrast to the abundant learning and exploration opportunities available in nature, captive environments can be under-stimulating—with the potential to induce anhedonia and reduce welfare. Zebrafish are now a popular scientific mo...

Zebrafish are now one of the most used animal model species in scientific research worldwide. Our current knowledge of wild zebrafish is limited to an estimated range of their natural habitats and their tendencies to form groups. In laboratories, zebrafish are typically housed in situations that differ greatly from their wild conditions. The discon...

Cognitive stimulation has been shown to be rewarding and capable of eliciting positive emotions in several species. In contrast to the abundant learning and exploration opportunities available in nature, captive environments can be under-stimulating—with the potential to induce anhedonia and reduce welfare. Zebrafish are now a popular scientific mo...

Zebrafish, a highly-social, shoaling species, are widely studied across many fields of scientific research. Nevertheless, as they are typically housed in barren environments, little is known about their social behavioural repertoire in more naturalistic laboratory settings. In particular, spontaneously occurring, socio-positive behaviours have rare...

This species' estuarine habitat along the eastern seaboard of North America has been heavily degraded. It is inferred that population declines of 30% or greater have happened due to habitat loss and degradation over the past century, however it is not clear whether a decline of 30% (or even close to this percentage) would have occurred within the 1...

Syngnathus californiensis is listed as a species of Least Concern. Little information exists for the Kelp Pipefish but available reports have recorded the species as common within its eastern Pacific range. The kelp bed ecosystem in which this species inhabits is abundant throughout the region, although habitat degradation is occurring and must be...

Due to minimal available information, Syngnathus euchrous is assessed as Data Deficient. Further research is required in order to properly assess this species against the IUCN Red List criteria. Mangrove and macroalgal habitat have both declined in the region, and further research is needed in order to determine the relative importance of each habi...

Syngnathus leptorhynchus is listed as Least Concern based on its large geographic range, lack of direct threats, and various studies reporting the species as common. Habitat degradation of eelgrass (Zostera marina) ecosystems, in which S. leptorhynchus spends much of its life, could produce future concern should habitat quality and quantity decreas...

Syngnathus exilis is listed as Least Concern. There are no known threats to the species, and it occurs in several habitat types which are not currently known to be threatened.

This species is distributed in shallow seagrass beds in the western central Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Venezuela. There are no known major threats, therefore it is assessed as as Least Concern. However the status of seagrass habitat should be monitored. We recommend further study of the extent this species is reliant or the extent to which it u...

This species is widely distributed where it occurs in shallow estuarine habitats with aquatic vegetation. There may be some habitat degradation, however, it is not considered to be a major threat at this time. Therefore it is assessed as Least Concern.

Syngnathus louisianae is widely distributed and commonly occurs in shallow habitats with seagrasses and Sargassum mats throughout the Gulf of Mexico. It may be locally impacted by loss of seagrass habitat, but it is not clear to what extent this is affecting population sizes. Further research is needed to quantify seagrass habitat loss across this...