Uses for RAMP

RAMP measures reflex impairment and predicts delayed mortality in animals. The method is a real time, cheap, effective, and easy way to monitor animal vitality, stress, disease, morbidity, and delayed mortality.  How is this useful?

In fisheries, non-target species of fish, invertebrates, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals (bycatch) are captured and released for a variety of reasons, usually related to management requirements or economic factors.  The release of these animals can result in large, unquantified amounts of fishing mortality that causes uncertainty in fisheries management and wastes valuable lives and resources.  RAMP can give immediate real time data on the vitality and potential delayed mortality of captured animals.  This data can be used in real time to evaluate and adjust fishing practices to improve bycatch survival and to quantify bycatch fishing mortality.

In live fisheries, animals are captured and transported to net pens or land markets for food consumption or aquarium trade.  Sorting of animals for maximum survival can be quickly accomplished using RAMP.  This sorting saves valuable holding space, decreases shipping costs, and increases the value of catch by including only top quality animals.  RAMP also aids in perfecting capture practices that maximize animal vitality and survival.

In aquaculture, RAMP is useful for real time monitoring of animal vitality, stress, disease, and potential for morbidity and mortality.  Aquaculture depends on maintaining the highest health conditions for animals, as disease can be a major impediment to aquaculture ethics and economics.  RAMP monitoring can be automated in aquaculture settings by using computer aided reflex testing.  Stimuli such as flashing bright light, sound, and food scent can be administered randomly into holding areas and the reflex responses of free-swimming animals can be observed and analyzed by video systems.  Detection of impaired reflex responses can trigger alarms systems and bring personnel to adjust conditions for improved animal health.

In pollution research and monitoring, RAMP is a sensitive measure of animal vitality, stress, sublethal, and lethal effects of pollutants. A large body of research exists documenting effects of pollutants on volitional feeding, social behavior, and predator prey interactions. RAMP can be an even more powerful measure of pollution effects than volitional behavior, since reflex impairment is directly related to animal vitality, without the modifying effects of motivation, size, and sex.