Comparison of live stimuli and 3D printed replicas: preference tests for zebrafish

摘要

In recent years, robots have emerged as relevant means for studying individual and social behavior, providing highly customizable and controllable instruments for a wide number of behavioral investigations. As zebrafish is gaining momentum among laboratory animals, several robotics-based paradigms have been proposed to study its complex behavior. However, previous studies have failed to report attraction toward robotic stimuli, comparable with live conspecifics. Here, we investigate this aspect in a within-subject experiment by testing zebrafish and comparing the attraction toward a live conspecific and a 3D-printed replica in binary-choice preference tests. We find that zebrafish have an analogous appraisal for live and robotic stimuli in preference experiments.