Social hierarchies, growth and brain serotonin metabolism in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) kept under commercial rearing conditions.

Monitoring social interactions between individuals in large, high-density groups poses several challenges. Here we demonstrate that relative concentrations of serotonin (5-Hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and its principal catabolite 5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in brain tissue of individual fish reflect social organisation in large groups of farmed Atlantic salmon. In the central nervous system of vertebrates, the monoamine neurotransmitter/neuromodulator 5-HT is critical for maintaining adaptive physiological, cognitive and emotional processes.