From 11th to 15th of march, the ICM and CephRes co-organize the course "Biology and care of cephalopods as experimental animals", accredited by the Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Association (FELASA).
From 11th to 15th of march, the ICM and CephRes co-organize the course "Biology and care of cephalopods as experimental animals", accredited by the Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Association (FELASA).
Cephalopods are a group of molluscs including species like the octopus, squid and cuttlefish, which have been included from 2013 in the European Directive on the protection and management of experimental animals for scientific purposes. This is a significant advance in the field of animal science laboratory since it is the only group of invertebrates included in this directive and represents an entire class of molluscs with about 800 described species.
In this new legislative framework, CephRes and ICM work together to offer the course "Biology and Care of Cephalopods", with the objective of training technicians and researchers in the experimentation with these animals. This is the second edition held at the ICM, previously celebrated in 2016. This is the firts time that a course on cephalopods care is accredited by FELASA (Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Association).
ICM researchers Mercedes Blázquez and Roger Villanueva will handle the organization and scientific management in collaboration with Patrocinio Vergara, from the Unitat de Fisiologia Animal, Facultat de Veterinària at the Universitat Autònoma of Barcelona, and Graziano Fiorito, from the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn of Naples. International specialists in experimentation from different countries will also conduct the course.
Cephalopods as laboratory animals
The decision to include cephalopods as the only representative group of invertebrates in the list of laboratory animals is because of the complex development of their nervous and sensory system. Their cognitive abilities make them able to develop such elaborate behaviours and learning tasks that these animals are considered able to experience pain, suffering and distress.
The aim of the course is to apply the Three Rs principle during experimentations for a suitable ethical use of animals: Refinement, Reduction and Replacement..
Contents of the course
The course is designed to provide 40 hours of training addressed to: i) people directly involved in the management and execution of experimental procedures, ii) people involved in experimental projects that include the use of cephalopods, iii) veterinarians and personnel in charge of animal welfare working with these species. This course combines theoretical sessions with closely related practical classes.
The daily lectures will provide a theoretical framework to perform the experimental procedures to be developed in the Experimental Area of Aquariums and chambers (ZAE) of the ICM. The subjects will be complemented by aspects of anatomy and biology related to practical procedures, taking into account the education and training of staff. Each lecture will include information about the planning and preparation of the practical session; the information to be regarded when observing the animal; the possible expected side effects of a particular treatment; and the proper techniques to manage these animals under different experimental conditions.
The course is specifically designed to fill the technical and training gap that exists in the community of technicians and researchers using cephalopods for scientific purposes, and in compliance with Directive 2010/63/EU and its transposition to Member States (Spain, RD53/2013).