Abalone (Haliotis spp.) are an edible, herbivorous group of marine snails with over 100 species found worldwide, seven species of which are located along the rocky coast of California, United States. All California species of abalone are listed as endangered or critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Abalone conservation and restoration efforts for these abalone species have been implemented, including captive breeding and out planting programs. Traditional abalone stress assessments, such as cardiac exams, involve drilling holes into the shell inorder to insert electrodes above the heart or require the attachment of sensors to the shell causing excessive handling stress to the animal that can gonad maturation state and can possibly lead to mortality.
The objective of this study was to investigate the application of non-invasive ultrasound technology for cardiac assessments under control conditions, during routine animal care, and other various potential stressors experienced in a conservation and production aquaculture facility.
In this study, cultured red abalone (H. rufescens) were used as a proxy for the endangered black abalone (H. cracherodii) to assess cardiac activity. Monitoring cardiac activity using non-invasive ultrasound imaging technology can be a useful tool to inform abalone captive breeding and restoration programs to enhance animal welfare for these endangered abalone species.