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Behavioural changes as a correlated response to selection

I S Holmes1, I M Hastings

  • 1Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh.

Genetical Research
|August 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary
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Intense, long-term selection for body weight or fat content in mice did not cause significant correlated changes in behavior. These findings suggest economic trait selection may not negatively impact animal welfare in commercial species.

Area of Science:

  • Animal Genetics
  • Behavioral Science
  • Animal Welfare

Background:

  • Selective breeding is crucial for enhancing economically important traits in livestock.
  • Long-term selection can lead to unintended correlated responses in other traits, including behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if intense, long-term selection for body weight and fat content in mice results in correlated behavioral changes.
  • To assess the implications for animal welfare in commercial species.

Main Methods:

  • Lines of mice were selected for high/low body weight or high/low fat content over 50 generations.
  • Behavioral traits including feeding, open field activity, pup ultrasonic vocalizations, and response to novelty were measured.
  • Genetic correlations between selected and behavioral traits were estimated.

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Main Results:

  • Significant differences in body weight (2.5x) and fat content (5x) were achieved between selected lines.
  • While some behavioral alterations were observed, no specific selection criterion consistently correlated with significant behavioral changes.
  • Genetic correlations between selected traits and most behavioral traits were near zero, with a minor exception for food intake in body weight-selected lines.

Conclusions:

  • Intense, long-term selection on economic traits like body weight and fat content does not inevitably lead to substantial behavioral changes in mice.
  • These findings suggest that selection for economic traits may not pose an inherent risk to animal welfare in commercial species, assuming mice are representative models.