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Abstract

Ethanol (EtOH) often has stimulatory effects at low doses and inhibitory effects at high doses, affecting behavior and physiology of many organisms in a non-linear manner suggestive of hormesis. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) shoaling was studied in adult fish exposed to one of five different EtOH concentrations (v/v): 0.0% control, 0.125%, 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1.0%. Digital photographs of groups of four fish were taken every 2 min, with each trial lasting a total of 12 min. The median nearest neighbor distance and shoal area were calculated for each photograph. Exposure to 1.0% EtOH inhibited shoaling. In contrast, as predicted from hormesis, shoaling was significantly tighter (as measured by nearest neighbor distance) at low concentrations (0.125%, 0.25%) compared to the control, and a J-shaped dose-response curve was present. A similar pattern occurred for shoal area, but in this case the only statistically significant differences were between the high concentration and all others.

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