Abstract 2222 Making a splash: Environmental enrichment has no effect on brain dopamine and serotonin levels or activity in Pekin ducks

We seek to enhance our understanding on how different forms of environmental enrichment affect dopamine and serotonin levels in the duck brain. Brain serotonin and dopamine levels have been associated with affective states for decades, but it is not clear the types of behavioral changes resulting from these changing levels in poultry. Thus, we set out to determine if water-based enrichment can impact the welfare of a duck breed, through the lens of brain neurotransmitter levels and activity. Dopamine (DA) is synthesized from the amino acid L-Tyrosine and converted into L-Dihydroxyphenylanaline (L-DOPA) by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH).