What is RAMP: reflex action mortality predictor?

Reflex actions and injury traits in crab scored for impairment (Stoner 2012, Yochum et al. 2015).

Reflex actions and injury traits in sharks scored for impairment (Danylchuk et al. 2014).

Reflex actions and injury traits in fish scored for impairment (Davis 2010, McArley and Herbert 2014).

Reflex actions and injury traits in turtles scored for impairment (LeDain et al. 2013, Stoot et al. 2013).
Photos; crab - Farm to Market, shark -  Swell Brains, fish - DEEP, turtle - Aquatica.

Any animal has reflex actions and potential injury traits; see diamonds in figures. These fixed traits can be observed, scored present or absent, and summed to form an animal vitality impairment score. Animal vitality is a gestalt of reflex and injury traits that we can observe as a whole animal, active and responding to stimuli. Vitality impairment and mortality are correlated and this relationship is expressed as RAMP, reflex action mortality predictor.

Impairment of well-defined reflex actions and injury types may differ for each species, dependent upon their natural history and phylum.  These species traits of reflex actions and injury types can be scored and combined to express the percentage of whole animal impairment. No impairment represents a healthy animal with all actions present and all injury absent. Increasing absence of reflex actions and presence of injury types is increasing impairment and is correlated with mortality.

Sublethal and lethal zones associated with reflex action impairment scores (RAMP) in walleye pollock, rock sole, sablefish, and Pacific halibut (Davis and Ottmar 2006). For these species at specific transition impairment values, a rapid rise in mortality is observed after a small increase in reflex impairment. 

These curves illustrate the expression “you are alive until you are not”. Animals live in various states of vitality impairment that are correlated with stress. Above a quantifiable level of vitality impairment, animals begin to show mortality, correlated with continued increase for impairment. The distribution of reflex impairment and injury in a group of animals is a measure of population vitality. 

For fish species (Davis 2010, McArley and Herbert 2014), animals have several types of reflex actions which can be secondary or primary. One action group contains secondary peripheral actions that are part of swimming and defensive behavior (fin erection and startle). Impairment of these reflex actions generally indicates sublethal stress effects and is associated with increasing stressor intensity (duration or strength). A second action group contains primary body functions (orientation and coordinated breathing). Impairment of primary body functions generally indicates delayed mortality after stress induction. In the same way, for crustacean species (Stoner 2012, Yochum et al. 2015), loss of leg reflex actions are associated with sublethal stress effects. Loss of eyestalk and mouth actions are associated with delayed mortality after stress induction.