Jones, A.R., Mendo, T., Broell, F., and Webster, M.M. J Exp Biol 2018, jeb.192971 (2018)

Endothermic or ‘warm-blooded’ animals will often raise their body temperature when they are stressed, a response known as ‘stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH).’ Some studies suggests that ectothermic animals, such as reptiles and fish, might also exhibit SIH but through behavioral means, by deliberately moving to a warmer area after an adverse event.

Recently, researchers from the University of St. Andrews completed a replication study of a prior experiment that claimed evidence of SIH in zebrafish (Proc R Soc B 284, 20160681; 2015). For this study, they added extra control tanks that did not feature a temperature gradient. The fish had no preference. A second experiment with a different tank set up found that some stressed fish actually spent a little less time in warmer water. The results challenge whether SIH is a true phenomenon in zebrafish.