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Institute of Animal Technology Bulletin G G G G AAALAC Fellowship AALAS Meeting Congress Paper Review G G G Tech Month Steve Moore Memorial Poster Competition Diary Dates Vol 55 No 2 February 2019

Bulletin Vol 55 No 2 February 2019 EDITOR Carole Wilson bulletineditor iat org uk ASSISTANT EDITOR Karen Dunford bulletinassistant iat org uk ADVERTISEMENT MANAGERS PRC Associates Ltd mail prcassoc co uk Published monthly by the Institute of Animal Technology Registered Office 5 South Parade Summertown Oxford OX2 7JL CONTENTS Dear Readers Technologist Month Congress 2019 5 7 9 11 AALAS Meeting Report 15 26 Steve Moore Memorial Poster Competition 29 ISSN 0263 2861 For enquiries other than Bulletin related contact IAT ADMINISTRATOR admin iat org uk or 0800 085 4380 Final copy date for April Bulletin 1st March The opinions expressed in the Bulletin do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or the Institute AAALAC International 31 41 Fellowship Award Report Angling Induced Injuries a paper review Diary Dates 43 45 47

Bulletin February 2019 De ar Re aders Welcome to the American edition of the Bulletin This month we have this year s AAALAC Fellowship winner Allan Thornhill s report of his interesting and valuable experiences in the USA see pages 31 41 It sounds like Allan had a really worthwhile time Allan makes the point at the end of his report that this Fellowship is open to all registered Animal Technologists to apply and I would like to reiterate that The Fellowship is a truly unique experience and everyone who is eligible should apply Carrying on with the American theme Graham and Kally give us their report of the AALAS Conference see pages 15 26 Everyone seems to be having a good time there as well I think I may have mentioned this to you in the past but AALAS is another conference well worth attending if you get the chance Thinking about conferences closer to home is everyone ready for Congress See page 11 There looks like there is going to be a lot of good stuff going on this year lots of really great looking workshops again this year I wish I could tell you that the fish facility team were close to having our work prepared and ready to go but I can t I suspect there will be a lot of panicking and sweating probably just me in the next weeks as we finish off preparations Whether or not you are attending Congress in April it is still Tech Month in March see pages 7 and 9 for information and ways you can join in I look forward to hearing about and publishing your stories Until next month Happy R eadi ng Carole 5

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WE GUARANTEE CONGRESS WILL BE EDUCATIONAL REWARDING AND FUN DROP IN SESSION FOR FE AND HE STUDENTS O During the refreshment break on PROVISIONAL SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME www iat org uk congress and find us on Download this booklet from the website POSTER DISPLAYS WILL BE ACCEPTED UP TO 28TH FEBRUARY Venue North West England To discuss any aspect of Congress or if you have any questions for the Congress Committee please contact us at congress iat org uk Thursday morning you can put your questions to the Board of Moderators and CLAST representatives as well as meet JOCK FRASER our new Educational Business Development Executive 2019 BRANCH CHARITY O All proceeds from the raffle will be donated to AS ET So please support the North West Branch and all the IAT Branches who have donated prizes by raising as much money as possible QUIZ NIGHT O Wednesday night s general knowledge quiz is legendary It s a fantastic evening you will NOT want to miss Check for updates www iat org uk

Bulletin February 2019 15 AALAS National Meeting 28th October to 1st November 2018 Baltimore by Alan Graham Kally Booth We both met up at Heathrow airport on Saturday afternoon several industry and IAT colleagues were on the same flight then following a catch up in the airport we had a uneventful eight and a half hour journey to Baltimore On landing we managed to share a transfer from the airport to our respective hotels which were conveniently all adjacent to the conference centre and close to the harbour We all arrived safe and sound It was the Halloween weekend which is a heavily embraced holiday in the USA and this was very obvious when we arrived as there was a Smurf in the hotel lobby a Ninja appeared out of the lift and Wonder Woman was sitting in the bar later that evening Sorry very surreal and no photos available as I don t think any of us could quiet believe what we were being confronted with

16 February 2019 Bulletin On Sunday at midday we went on an organised visit to a new animal facility at the University of Maryland After a seminar on the advantages of using Hydropacs and a raffle which sadly none of us won any of the great prizes we were escorted in groups to the facility on the tenth floor of a very impressive building Over a hundred delegates were allowed to wander around the facility and there were numerous staff available who had volunteered to come in on their day off to chaperone the visitors and answer any questions The facility wasn t yet at capacity but was mainly a rodent facility with some zebrafish Everyone was allowed to access all areas of the facility with minimal PPE and bizarrely an assist dog called Mahor was also allowed into the unit and was definitely the most favoured delegate even having his own lanyard Although the facility was very hygienic it was difficult to see how any type of barrier could be maintained as the hundred or so visitors were able to walk in without any kind of footwear change or covers There was minimal automation

Bulletin February 2019 17 apart from the machine which generated the Hydropacs which were stored in stackable bins and these looked like a manual handling and ergonomic nightmare and we reckoned there was over four tonnes of packs to be moved on not very manoeuvrable trolleys While looking around the unit it was clear to see a big difference between the USA and UK s level of enrichment offered to the animals While the UK strives to offer their animals the best enrichment possible in this facility there seemed to be very minimal or in some cages no enrichment available One of the unit techs was asked about the enrichment and the response was this is what we are told to give them I think UK techs definitely have more free thinking and input The PMI Award dinner on the Sunday evening was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with colleagues from both sides of the pond and we got the usual updates from previous winners The USA winner for this year was John Donaho who gave a year by year overview of his 40 year career We weren t certain but think he missed out 1994 he d obviously had a very fulfilling career No such thing as a free dinner Monday morning the stand was up and fully stocked with sweets and pens ready for the day s visitors we had submitted questions for the Technician s Funfair which involved the delegate technicians visiting the trade stands to answer various animal related questions with the opportunity to then win a variety of donated prizes This brought a flurry of activity to the IAT booth and there was a lot of interest in the pens our Career Pathway and the Institute s activities which are very similar to the AALAS structure This year AALAS registration was 4360 delegates which is just about ten times the size of Congress with 272 posters on display covering all aspects of laboratory animal research in the USA and abroad The trade exhibition was huge and some of the main players within the cage manufacturing sector had gone very big with their stands and sponsorship at the event The American market is

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Bulletin February 2019 19 obviously a lot bigger than the UK Midday the activity at the stand quietened down and a small demonstration from PETA had started outside the convention centre but this didn t appear to have any impact on the delegates and was well policed In the early evening seven of us set out to experience Baltimore Indian cuisine and found a little restaurant that had rave reviews a short taxi ride away The restaurant Namaste was very quiet and the host was very attentive to the point where he wanted to take a photo of the group to put on his website The food was amazing and at 180 for seven people it was excellent value he couldn t give us enough to the point where we couldn t eat any more To finish of the meal a couple of us asked for an Irish coffee which was obviously a new concept to the owner so we were allowed behind the bar to demonstrate and pour our own which if repeated will be a shock to the next person to ask for one Tuesday morning we set off back to the convention centre to man the stand which was only a five minute walk from the hotel We had a flurry of interest and the technician quiz brought a new batch of technicians to the stand who were very interested in what we do and our Career Pathway Throughout the day small groups of young people secondary school age where chaperoned

22 February 2019 Bulletin around the trade exhibition and posters which is a very worthy initiative to give young people an insight into Laboratory Animal Science The Rusty Scupper Tecniplast had generously invited us out for a meal in Baltimore at the Rusty Scupper on the Tuesday evening which specialised in crab and steak the food was excellent and the company was just as good We had a panoramic view of Baltimore Harbour and impressive skyline finishing the evening at a local bar to network with colleagues from overseas and a couple of ex pats from the UK Wednesday morning was a quiet start in the trade hall but soon picked up as many of the delegates took a final opportunity to have a look around the stands The exhibition closed at 13 00 and we were invited to the AAALAC International Lunch held in the Hilton hotel adjacent to the conference centre Allan Thornhill was this year s UK recipient of the AAALAC International Fellowship award and he had already spent a full week in the USA on visits to various facilities which cumulated with the AALAS meeting The award was kindly sponsored by Priority One Services Inc and Datesand See Allan s report on pages 41 41

Bulletin February 2019 23 Wednesday was our last night in Baltimore with the now traditional Brits night out generously sponsored by Datesand and we all met at a local Irish pub for a bite to eat although we are still not quite sure where the Irish connection was Quite a few people had already departed for the UK so those who were left had our meal and went to a local bar for a game of pool with some of the locals After our game I got a shoulder bump and embrace from Mel which left me wondering if the spaniels at the airport would take a special interest in me as the pattern on his jacket was an indication of his aftershave The majority of the flights back to the UK were late Thursday evening so a group of us took the opportunity to go to Washington DC which was only about an hour away by cab We did a bit of sightseeing on the jump on jump off tour bus and saw many of the iconic sights of DC which have appeared in

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Bulletin February 2019 25 many a movie Washington was very impressive and has nineteen museums and the zoo which are all free We didn t have the time to visit museums but Washington would be the place to visit for a cultural overload The weather was really warm and the war memorial for the Korean war was spectacular and had a very moving atmosphere with many war vets visiting the memorial where all the names had been engraved into the black granite wall Not wanting to risk any delay in getting back to Baltimore by car we decided to take the train which was surprisingly cheap at 8 each and had 2 floors a novelty to some of us meaning we just had to sit upstairs AALAS was a fantastic conference although we never managed any talks however we did get to see the poster displays which went on for miles Most posters had the QR reader which is a great idea so we spent some time zapping away at posters to take the information back home to read We met old friends and formed new ones which gave us the opportunity to talk to some really interesting people from all over the world The Institute obviously have a lot of friends colleagues and supporters in the USA as well as the interest in what we do and there was a lot of interest in AST2020 from both trade and delegates A NEW DAWN Animal research and compliance software Reimagined With a brand new User Interface tick lab leads you into the future of animal and compliance management software a tune com ticklab new dawn 49 6151 95131 0 sales a tune com

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Bulletin February 2019 31 The AAALAC International Fellowship 2018 T o be counted amongst the elite band of AAALAC Fellows is a real honour This became apparent to me when I entered Dr Robert Weichbrod s office during my visit to the National Institutes of Health Campus and saw all the previous eminent Fellows displayed on his wall I received notification that I had been awarded the 2018 UK Fellowship in early July Soon after the planning was underway It was not going to be long before I was jetting off across the pond for a fantastic experience It was humbling to receive many messages of congratulations from UK and US colleagues Elizabeth from the AAALAC Offices was soon in contact with a checklist of things that I needed to take care of including flight bookings National AALAS Meeting registration and of course the travel documentation such as a valid ESTA As the weeks passed regular updates on the itinerary were sent and it was clear that any idea of a holiday was dismissed immediately this was going to be a full on experience For the first week I would be based in Bethesda Maryland and visit some major facilities in the area and learn about their Animal Care and Use Programmes The second week would be spent at the National AALAS Meeting in Baltimore After an uneventful flight from London Heathrow to Washington Dulles Airport I was collected by car and taken to the hotel in Bethesda Jetlag kicked in at around 4am on Sunday which luckily was a free day for recovery I had booked a trolley bus tour of Washington DC and so hopped on the Metro just outside of the hotel It took me a good five minutes to figure out how to get a ticket though The bus tour was excellent and it gave me the chance to see the major sights by hopping on and off at various locations I spent a bit of time at the Lincoln Memorial the Korean and Vietnam War memorials I also took a tour of the amazing Arlington National Cemetery before getting back on the bus to return to the starting point Korean War Memorial Washington DC

32 February 2019 Bulletin Having worked out what I wanted to see in more detail I took a walk to the National Archives in which I saw the Constitution Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence a visit to the White House visitors centre and finally a walk around the White House to wave at Mr Trump It was interesting to see a number of protests at the back of the White House and the incredible security presence but I suppose it was no different to what we see outside the Houses of Parliament and Number 10 An early start on Monday was no problem as I again woke at 4am I was collected from the hotel by Dr Robert Weichbrod one of the founding fathers of the Fellowship Award He drove me to the University of Maryland campus where I was met by Dr Shannon Stutler the attending Veterinarian Dr Stutler showed me various facilities on campus many of which required a drive as it covers such a large area The range of species on campus is incredible everything from rodents alligators owls aquatics through to farm animals It was great to meet the animal care One of the new modern facilities at University of Maryland

Bulletin February 2019 33 staff and it was clear they were committed to a high level of care and welfare I also had the opportunity to visit the Office of Animal Welfare Assurance which is responsible for the operation of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Programme and compliance Whilst touring the large animal facilities and meeting some of the new calves that had just arrived I was able to hear about the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine ACLAM as students were on site learning about sample collection from fistulated cattle After a long day of walking and learning I was dropped back to the hotel for a fast turnaround where I quickly packed an overnight bag ready to be picked up again and driven to The Howard Hughes Medical Institute HHMI in Ashburn Virginia near the Washington Dulles Airport It was becoming apparent after just a couple of days that driving anywhere around the Washington Metropolitan area was tedious especially at peak times However the long car journey to HHMI gave plenty of time for Dr Weichbrod and I to get to know each other It was dark when we arrived at the HHMI Janelia Research Campus but even in the dark it was evident that this was no ordinary facility Dr Weichbrod and I were accompanied for dinner by Jim Cox the Shared Resource Director The superb dinner was in the campuses own full service restaurant I was to stay on site overnight at their own fantastic quality hotel My body clock was still not quite adjusted but a 6am wake up was a slight improvement Arriving in the dark I didn t appreciate the view that was outside of my hotel window and as the dawn started to break I was treated to a stunning view over a lake It encouraged me to get up and take a bracing

34 February 2019 Bulletin sunrise walk around it and take some photos The campus reminded me a little of the sites I used to work at with Beecham and GSK After taking breakfast at the restaurant I was met again by Jim Cox to start a full day of visits and discussions with his team My first stop on the tour was the surgical suites where I met some of the incredibly dedicated team who carry out surgical procedures and aftercare on behalf of research teams working at the institute It was here that I learnt a striking contrast between US and UK legislation and how science can be facilitated The surgery that was being performed was postponed from the previous day as it was found that the procedure was not included on the IACUC protocol The animals had already undergone some surgical procedures consistent with the protocol but this was a new intervention It required a fast approval turnaround Approval was given following detailed email correspondence and justification with the Chair of the IACUC committee and key members Hence the surgery was authorised to proceed the following day It made me think about how this situation would be dealt with in the UK There was a clear benefit in that the animals did not need to be culled and the study could continue This would not have been the case in the UK I spoke with many other members of the Biological Services teams and enjoyed tours of some extremely interesting facilities including Drosophila robotics state of the art cagewash facilities a vast number of aquatic species and the rodent breeding and experimental areas Of interest to me as we have Automatic Watering at the ICR was a device designed and produced at the HHMI called Valve Stop A very simple concept for preventing a cage of animals being replaced in a rack space that does not have a watering valve in place The day was completed with a very interesting discussion with the Chair of the IACUC Dr Meghan Seltzer where we discussed the approval process and the comparisons I mentioned above It was time to bid farewell to an incredible research facility I had plenty of time to discuss my visit The innovative Valve Stop

Bulletin February 2019 35 with Jim Cox on the tedious journey back to Bethesda and we thought travelling on the M25 was bad After a full night of sleep it was time to meet up again with Dr Robert Weichbrod for two days of visits at the expansive National Institutes of Health Campus at Bethesda To say this place is huge would be an understatement so try and imagine grouping 21 or so of the largest UK animal facilities in an area the size of Hyde Park The campus has its own police and fire departments Amongst the 75 buildings on campus it has the world s largest Clinical Research centre and accommodates over 20 000 employees Security is tight and on arrival I had to present my passport and undergo Airport style security My first stop of the day was to the Office of Animal Care and Use OACU where I was given an overview of the NIH Animal Care and Use Programme The small team oversee compliance for 21 IACUCS on the campus an immense task The rodent use numbers on the campus alone are two thirds that of the whole of the UK

36 February 2019 Bulletin My first experience of aquatics was on Monday and very interesting it was too This was to be just a taster of the facility that I was next to enter and I am glad I had gained a little background knowledge I met Lauren Pandolfo the manager of the lab animal and fish facilities She gave me a tour of the huge facility capable of housing up to half a million fish I was also able to accompany veterinarian Dr Tannia Clark on her rounds and was fascinated by the level of detail required to identify abnormalities in the fish colonies of this scale excuse the pun During a working lunch I gave a short presentation on my work at the Institute of Cancer Research to a team of Animal facility staff and the Priority One Services management team Lunch was followed by a tour of Building 49 a multi species central animal facility I was able to see interesting behavioural work being carried out using non human primates and the play and enrichment areas for these animals was of particular interest to me The surgical areas were just like human operating theatres with state of the art equipment and clinical conditions They also had the ability to video display surgery as it was happening for student training purposes A huge part of the NIH work involves research into neurological disorders and I was fortunate to be able to meet some of the key investigators in this field and observe their work with both ferrets and NHPs It was a fascinating insight into a clinical area that is becoming more and more important in an aging population The day and a half tours of the NIH were certainly a mind blowing experience and I feel that I only really scratched the surface on the incredible research that is carried out on this immense campus It was time to leave NIH and following an hour s drive north to Frederik Maryland we visited the AAALAC International Executive Office A detailed overview of the accreditation programme was followed by a delicious lunch AAALAC International have over 1000 accredited programmes in 47 countries and it is an objective of mine to seek accreditation at the ICR facilities in the future Accreditation is a performance based model encouraging continual performance improvement Of course AAALAC International are also the awarding body of the International Fellowship Award This award is open to IAT Registered Technologists and I would encourage anyone with that status to look out for the promotional material and apply After a fantastic evening meal with members of the Priority One Management team it was back to the hotel for a well earned rest My last day of facility visits would be probably the most eventful I was met early after checking out of the Bethesda Hotel and taken to the Federal Drug Administration Campus at White Oak Maryland We arrived just as the sun was rising and we entered via the loading bay of the animal facility It transpired that as a foreigner I

Bulletin February 2019 37 The FDA White Oak Campus should have registered my details 7 days in advance and there was no way I was getting in After a couple of hours and I am sure a lot of negotiation I was finally allowed into the facilities and was given a rather quicker tour than planned The FDA facilities are modern and house multiple species including NHPs up to Bio containment level 3 It was a fascinating insight into the work of the FDA and I admit prior to visiting I didn t realise the FDA actually carried out animal research as well as oversee the conduct of research and approval of medicines It was time to leave the busy Washington DC area and the fantastic array of research facilities that I had experienced and head north to Baltimore I was driven by Pepe Figueroa the founder of Priority One Services We had to grab lunch on the way and there was plenty of choice McDonalds Wendy s KFC etc To Pepe s amazement I opted for his recommendation of Cuban What a fantastic lunch it was too It was an opportunity for me to learn more about Priority One and how the management of animal facilities varies to the UK

38 February 2019 Bulletin After checking into my Baltimore Hotel it was a short drive to the National Aquarium where a few of the colleagues I had met earlier in the week and Dr Weichbrod would be treated to a behind the scenes tour of the facilities It was a fascinating 2 hours seeing the management of the many species of aquatics including the pathology areas the water treatment food Amazing jellyfish at the National Aquarium preparation and of Baltimore course the back of house displays We had the opportunity to interact with a young male octopus as he was being fed and it was a bizarre experience I really didn t appreciate how much grip and power they would have in their tentacles It was great to attend another National AALAS and to be back in Baltimore again I previously visited Baltimore 5 years previous and the city was familiar to me so navigation was not a problem It was good to meet up with my fellow Brits and to share my week s experience with them On Sunday we enjoyed a self guided tour and luncheon at the University of Maryland School of Medicine A very large new animal facility located in the heart of the city Sunday evening was the PMI International Awards Dinner I was honoured to receive this award in 2016 in Charlotte North Carolina and it was great to be back with old colleagues from PMI and previous awardees The National AALAS Meeting is on a scale not seen anywhere else in our industry worldwide As a member of the IAT Congress Committee it is always worthwhile looking at various ideas from other similar meetings It was good to catch up with exhibiting colleagues and to meet many new faces There are always some very interesting posters displayed but with hundreds to look at it does take a while to filter along the rows to find ones of interest Scientific presentations and workshops run from 8am through to 5pm each day and often with multiple parallel sessions

Bulletin February 2019 39 On Wednesday the AAALAC AALAS ICLAS International luncheon is held and so it was time to scrub up and don a suit to formally receive my award It was amazing to meet some of the past award recipients and also to meet and chat with the 2019 US recipient Theresa Cunningham Faughnan The time had come to receive my award and that nervous moment of giving an acceptance speech but thankfully I was asked to keep it short and so it wasn t too bad It was a very proud moment to receive the award and to be amongst such eminent colleagues Lisa Seacrest from Priory One and Jonathon Wood from Datesand present Allan with his award

40 February 2019 Bulletin There is always something to do in the evenings thanks to the very generous support of some of the exhibiting companies On Monday evening a number of us took a cab out of town to a highly recommended Indian Restaurant and we were not disappointed The owners were extremely hospitable and we even had our photo taken for their Facebook page On Tuesday evening I joined Priority One Services for a fantastic meal I cannot thank the team at Priority One enough for their kind sponsorship of the AAALAC Fellowship and for their incredible hospitality throughout the trip They are an excellent team Traditionally at National AALAS the attending Brits meet up for a meal and a few drinks on the Wednesday evening Time had come to head home back over the pond but not before an impromptu trip back to Washington DC with some British colleagues for a short sightseeing tour It was a fantastic was to end a most amazing two week experience

Bulletin February 2019 41 Receiving the AAALAC International Fellowship Award is humbling inspirational and truly rewarding It is an experience of a lifetime to be able to be given access to some of the most important research establishments in the USA and to meet some incredible researchers animal care staff and veterinarians The experience is organised with military precision and the dedication of the team that take time out of their day to make sure that I experienced a wide spectrum of research is fantastic My most sincere thanks must go to the team at Priority One Services and Datesand Group who sponsor the award To Dr Robert Weichbrod one of the founding fathers of this amazing award thank you for your insight and unceasing support of the The AAALAC International Fellowship Award Fellowship To all the staff at AAALAC International for organising a busy schedule and for continuing to promote and offer this experience To all Registered Animal Technologists in the UK like previous award recipients I cannot stress enough how valuable this experience is I encourage you to apply for the award and if not successful keep applying It offers the most unique opportunity and experience in our industry Allan Thornhill FIAT RAnTech Head of Biological Services Institute of Cancer Research

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Bulletin February 2019 43 Angling induced injuries have a negative impact on suction feeding performance and hydrodynamics in marine shiner perch Cymatogaster aggregata a discussion of a paper by Melissa Thompson and colleagues J Exp Biol 2018 221 jeb180935 Reviewed by Chloe Stevens In recent years there has been increasing interest in fish welfare and how human activities impact fishes One such human activity is recreational fishing Although a popular hobby worldwide there are concerns that recreational fishing is detrimental to fish welfare causing pain distress and suffering to captured fish for example see Balcombe 2016 The paper discussed here considers another way in which angling can be detrimental to fish by looking at how injuries caused by fish hooks can impair a fish s ability to eat Cymastogaster aggregatai NOAA Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Recreational fishing is a highly popular activity throughout the world Unfortunately as the authors explain this popularity can be problematic Recreational fishing has damaging impacts on natural ecosystems if too many fish are caught and can cause a decrease in the size of fish populations

44 February 2019 Bulletin Strategies to avoid these negative effects do exist one of which is catch andrelease fishing as fish are returned to the ecosystem after being caught However these strategies don t always work some studies have found that up to two thirds of fish that are caught go on to die shortly after being released So why are mortality rates in released fish so high There are a number of contributing factors stress poor handling too long spent out of water Thompson and colleagues study addresses another factor the possibility that some fish cannot feed as effectively after release because their mouths have been injured by hooks The authors chose to carry out their study in a popular game fish the marine shiner perch Shiner perch are suction feeders they capture prey by quickly sucking the prey item into their mouths from a close distance To create the suction power needed they quickly open their mouth cavity which creates a low pressure space which water rapidly flows into carrying the prey along with it Thompson and colleagues hypothesised that holes caused by hooks would disrupt the flow of water into a fish s mouth making the fish less able to capture prey and possibly affecting how likely that fish is to survive Thompson and colleagues used two different approaches to test their hypothesis Their first approach was to conduct an experiment with hookcaught and net caught shiner perch The fish were fed small pieces of tube worm and filmed using a high speed camera as they ate The videos were then used to measure different aspects of how the fish ate how quickly the food was sucked into the fish s mouth and how quickly and widely the fish opened their mouths to suck the food in These measures could then be compared in the hook caught injured fish and the net caught uninjured fish The second approach used in this study was to develop computer simulations of water flow into the mouths of injured and uninjured fish Using data from MRI scans the team created a simulated shiner perch head and mouth to which they could add a hole to represent the hole created by a fish hook By simulating water flowing into the mouth of their fish they could measure how water speed and pressure changed in a fish that had a hook injury compared with an uninjured fish From their experiment the authors found that fish without hook injuries were able to suck in prey more quickly than injured fish in other words fish who had been hooked were less effective feeders than fish who hadn t been hooked This finding was supported by the results of the computer simulations which showed that water flowed more slowly into an injured fish s mouth and the larger the hole the more slowly the water flowed This was because

Bulletin February 2019 45 the presence of a hole in the fish s mouth stopped them from being able to create the low pressure space needed to suck in water quickly The authors added that the decrease in feeding ability in injured fish was not because the hooked fish were less motivated to eat Fish who are less motivated to eat open their mouths less widely and more slowly when feeding but in this study the injured and uninjured fish didn t differ in these measures The results of this study show that fish who have injuries from being recently hooked may be less able to feed which may in turn affect their survival after being released Although studies of fish in the field would be needed to fully explore these effects these results may help us to understand why mortality rates of fish after being caught and released can be so high Any decrease in feeding ability might be particularly important for fish that feed on fast or evasive prey as a suction feeding strategy relies on being able to suck up the prey item before it can escape This paper provides important evidence that catching fish with hooks may affect how easily they can eat and how likely they are to survive when released back into the wild It therefore raises questions about how effective catch and release fishing is as a technique to avoid damaging fish populations besides the other ethical and welfare concerns about recreational angling Reference Balcombe J 2016 What a Fish Knows Oneworld Publications ISBN 1786071223 Cymastogaster aggregate 2zz Photo by David J Stang CC BY SA 4 0 https creativecommons org licenses by sa 4 0 via Wikimedia Commons

Bulletin February 2019 47 DIARY Dates 19 February IAT West Middlesex Branch Symposium London 20 February London Branch AGM 28 29 March Intensive course on biostatistics Metropolitan City of Milan Italy Details https www fondazioneguidobernardini or g en programs course intensive course onbiostatistics html 27 28 February LASA Technical Forum Surgical Techniques Innovations Oxfordshire Details http www lasa co uk meetings 4 5 April Microbiota and gnotobiotic rodents Metropolitan City of Milan Italy Details https www fondazioneguidobernardini or g en programs course microbiota andgnotobiotic rodents html 28 February Congress Poster Submission Closes Details on page 26 9 12 April IAT Congress North West England Details on page 11 1 31 March IAT Technologist Month Details on pages 7 and 9 6 8 March Organizing and Operating Activities in a Rodent Animal Facility Metropolitan City of Milan Italy Details https www fondazioneguidobernardini or g en programs course organizing andoperating activities in a rodent animalfacility html 7 March Congress Workshop Bookings open 22 March Congress registration closes Details on page 11 9 10 May The management of genetically altered rodent colonies Metropolitan City of Milan Italy Details https www fondazioneguidobernardini or g en programs course the management ofgenetically altered rodent colonies html 10 13 June FELASA Conference Prague Details http www felasa2019 eu 2020 24 26 March AST2020 Edinburgh Details https www ast2020 org Front cover Baltimore Harbour by Alan Graham