FEAR OF HUMANS IN JAPANESE-QUAIL SELECTED FOR LOW OR HIGH ADRENOCORTICAL-RESPONSE

Behavioral reactions to a nearby human were recorded in male Japanese quail of two lines selected for reduced (LS; low stress) or exaggerate d (HS; high stress) plasma corticosterone (B) response to brief mechan ical immobilization. Their adrenocortical responses to one of three tr eatments were then examined. These were: no human disturbance (undistu rbed controls, CON), capture and return to the home cage before recapt ure and bleeding after 5 min (CR), or capture and manual restraint for 5 min before blood sampling (CREST). Quail of the HS line showed more fear-related behavior (crouching, escape) and avoidance of the experi menter than did their LS counterparts. Plasma B concentrations were ma rkedly elevated following each capture treatment (CREST > CR) and the response appeared to be more pronounced in quail of the HS than the LS line. These findings indicate that HS quail perceived human contact t o be more aversive than did those of the LS line. Avoidance scores and the adrenocortical responses to capture were positively correlated wi thin individual birds. Therefore, simple behavioral tests of fear may have predictive value concerning physiological responsiveness to stres sful stimulation.