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Victoria Braithwaite
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Victoria Braithwaite

Professor of Fisheries and Biology

410 Forest Resources Building
Penn State University
University Park
PA 16802
Phone: 865-4675
Lab: http://www.psu.edu/dept/braithwaite

Education:

  1. D.Phil.(PhD), University of Oxford, UK 1989-1993 (Advisers: John Krebs FRS, Marian Dawkins & Tim Guilford)
  2. B.A (Hons), Zoology, Oxford University, UK (1985-1988)

Honors and Awards:

  1. Bellis Award, Ecology (2010)
  2. Fisheries Society of the British Isles Medal (2006)
  3. Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation (2005)
  4. Christopher Welch Scholarship, Oxford University (1989-1992)

Research Interests:

Animal Perception, Learning and Memory 

  • Variation in learning and memory ability - the role of predation pressure and other ecological variables

    • How do different ecological pressures affect animal learning and memory abilities? Our investigations use factors such as predation pressure or the relative stability of the local environment to determine what shapes cognition and temperament in different natural populations. Our studies use within species comparisons and rearing in controlled environments to determine factors underpinning individual differences in cognition and behavior. Much of our work uses various species of fish to address these issues.

  • Pain perception, fear and suffering in fish

    • Do fish have a capacity to detect tissue damaging stimuli and if they do, can the fish perceive such stimuli as painful? We have shown that fish possess a nociceptive system - specialized nerve fibers that mammals and birds use to detect noxious stimuli. We have also found that fish experiencing noxious stimuli are cognitively impaired, but this impairment can be reversed if the fish are provided with pain relief. We are currently using fish cognition as a tool to investigate whether fish suffer. Our work aims to determine what types of welfare measures might be appropriate for fish held in captivity for aquaculture or in research establishments.

  • Effects of variable rearing environments on the development of behavior in hatchery reared fish

    • Over the last few years there have been concerted efforts made to bolster threatened fish populations through the managed release of hatchery reared individuals. While hatcheries provide a safe and productive growing environment, they do little to prepare fish for life in naturally variable wild environments. We have been investigating how to introduce elements of variability into the hatchery environment to promote behavioral flexibility and increase survival in hatchery reared fish that are released into the wild.

    Selected Publications:

     

    Books:
  • Braithwaite, V. A. (2010) 'Do Fish Feel Pain?' Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK
  • Magnhagen, C., Braithwaite, V. A., Forsgren, E. & Kapoor, B. G. (2008) 'Fish Behaviour'. Science Publishers, New Hampshire, USA.

    • Research papers:

     

  • Eriksen, M. S., G. Færevik, G., Kittilsen, S., McCormick, M. I., Braastad, B. O., Damsgård, B., Braithwaite, V. A. & Bakken, M. (2011) Stressed mothers- troubled offspring? A study of behavioural maternal effects in farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. Journal of Fish Biology 79: 575-586.
  •  Salvanes, A. G. V., Utne-Palm, A. C., Currie, B. & Braithwaite, V. A.,  (2011) Strategies underpinning diel vertical migration of the bearded gobySufflogobius bibarbatus in an extreme environment. Marine Ecology Progress Series 425: 193-202.
  • Utne-Palm, A. C., Salvanes, A. G. V., Currie, B., Kaartvedt, S., Nilsson, G. E., Braithwaite, V. A et al. (2010) Trophic structure and community stability in an overfished ecosystem. Science 329: 333-336.
  • Braithwaite, V. A. & Salvanes, A. G. V. (2010) Aquaculture and restocking: implications for conservation and welfare. Animal Welfare 19, 139-149.
  • Heenan, A., Simpson, S. D., Meekan, M. G., Healy, S. D. & Braithwaite, V. A. (2009) Restoring depleted coral reef fish populations through recruitment enhancement: a proof of concept. Journal of Fish Biology, 75, 1857-1867
  • Brydges, N. M., Colegrave, N., Heathcote, R. & Braithwaite, V. A. (2008) Habitat stability and predation pressure affect behavioural traits in populations of three-spined sticklebacks. Journal of Animal Ecology, 77, 229-235
  • Braithwaite, V. A. & Boulcott, P. (2007) Pain perception and fear in fish. Diseases in Aquatic Organisms, 75, 131-138
  • Brown, C., Western, J. & Braithwaite, V. A. (2007) The influence of early experience and inheritance of cerebral lateralization. Animal Behaviour, 74, 231-238
  • Braithwaite, V. A. (2006) Cognition in Fish. Behaviour and Physiology of Fish 24, 1-37
  • Burt de Perera, T. & Braithwaite, V. A. (2005) Laterality in a non-visual sensory modality – the lateral line of fish. Current Biology, 15, 241-242.
  • Brown, C. & Braithwaite, V. A. (2005) Effects of predation pressure on the cognitive ability of the poeciliid Brachyraphis episcopi. Behavioral Ecology, 16, 482-287
  • Braithwaite, V. A. & Salvanes, A. G. V. (2005) Environmental variability in the early rearing environment generates behaviourally flexible cod: implications for rehabilitating wild populations. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London Series B. 272, 1107-
  • Brown, C. & Braithwaite, V. A. (2004) Size matters: a test of boldness in eight populations of bishop, Brachyraphis episcopi. Animal Behaviour, 68, 1325-1329
  • Sneddon, L.U., Braithwaite, V.A. & Gentle, M.J. (2003) Do fish have nociceptors: evidence for the evolution of a vertebrate sensory system. Proceedings of the Royal Society. 270, 1115-1121

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    For a full list of publications go to:

    http://www.psu.edu/dept/braithwaite/Braithwaite_Research_Group/Publications.html

    Research Interests:

    Ecology:
    Evolutionary Biology:
    Neuroscience: