ABSTRACT
The field of behavioral toxicology arose in the late 1950s in response to Soviet research, which used Pavlovian conditioning techniques to establish clean air standards in the USSR. The field expanded rapidly, drawing from the well-established methodologies of comparative psychology, psychopharmacology, and neuropsychology. These methodologies are primarily protocols for manipulating and measuring independent variables--in this case, repellent stimuli--so that their effects on behavior can be reliably determined. Recent developments in behavioral toxicology, experimental psychology, and maintenance of sharks should facilitate development of a bioassay for chemical repellents with sharks as subjects. A number of different behavioral tests might use an aversive chemical stimulus either as a reinforcer or as a test substance. One advantage of using natural behavioral elements is that the assay can be easily and quickly performed. Responses of the unconditioned shark more closely reflect field behavior, and the significance of the unconditioned activity is usually easy to interpret.
