Behavioral repertoire of the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879) in laboratory

ABSTRACT

An ethogram was prepared to characterize and describe the behavior of the prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii in the laboratory so that its behavior would foreground in-depth analysis of the species´s culture. Sixty prawns were observed during 30 days through the ad libitum method, featuring one-hour continuous reports, at 0700-0800; 0830-0930; 1000-1100; 1130-1230; 1300-1400; 1430-1530; 1600-1700; 1730-1830. M. rosenbergii developed several behavioral activities with 28 categories and grouped in activity classes, such as, maintenance, locomotion, feeding and agonism. Characterization, description and understanding of the behavioral repertoire of M. rosenbergii through methodologies and observation tools typical of behavioral studies are an important step towards the improvement of technical management and welfare of the animal in captivity.