Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Levell, Samantha

Second Advisor

Cook, Peter

Area of Concentration

Animal Wellbeing and Conservation with Marine Biology

Abstract

Environmental enrichment is the intentional addition of stimuli to an animal’s environment to provide necessary stimulation for optimal psychological and physiological well-being. This has been studied across taxa, but there is significantly less research on enrichment in fish. The current experiment looked into differences in how the least killifish (Heterandria formosa) interact with enrichment based on color. Preferences between colors can aid in determining potential care standards. This experiment utilized four colors of yarn mops, green, brown, white, and pink, to represent common colors in home aquaria. A preference between these colors was determined based on how many fish were interacting with each color for what amount of time over twenty-five days. This study has shown that the most preferred enrichment colors, based on H. formosa behavior, are pink and brown. Color is a small part of enrichment, but it can make a big difference in its effects. The preference for pink and brown in H. formosa suggests that this color can promote well-being through lowering stress and promoting natural behaviors.

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