RAMP validation

Initial research with RAMP was designed to show proof of principle for the efficacy of using reflex impairment to measure stress induction and predict mortality in fish and invertebrates.  These results are reviewed by Davis 2010 and Stoner 2012.

A next step in RAMP research is to validate the method under field conditions related to fitness outcomes such as migration and survival.  Examples of field validation are beginning to appear for coho salmon in Raby et al. 2012 and dungeness crab in Yochum 2012.  Validation studies use a suite of experimental methods to construct RAMP curves, capture experimental subjects, tag and release the captured animals, track their movements, behavior, and survival, and correlate RAMP scores with delayed mortality in field settings.  Of course, when RAMP is used in closed systems like aquaculture, live capture, and smaller lakes, validation is simpler since animals are retained and can easily be monitored and tested throughout their life.

Additional validation studies can also be conducted to document the possible effects of capture or rearing conditions, ontogeny, injury, and predator abundance on RAMP curves for different species.  In general a RAMP curve should be constructed using animals exposed to the types and intensities of stressors under which the RAMP curve will be used.

Research on the mechanisms of reflex impairment induced by stressors can be undertaken which will contribute significantly to understanding the integration of neural, muscular, and organ systems in animals.  The study of reflex impairment contributes a different and valuable perspective to standard models for stress, disease, morbidity, and death in animals.  While significant work has contributed to understanding reflex actions and their relation to health in humans,  impairment of animal reflex actions and their fitness outcomes are less studied.