Involvement of sex steroids, luteinizing hormone and thyroid hormones in upstream and downstream swimming behavior of land-locked sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka

The involvement of testosterone (T), estradiol-17 beta (E-2), 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), 17,20 beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnene-3-one (DHP), luteinizing hormone (LH), thyroxine (T-4), and triiodothyronine (T-3) in the regulation of downstream and upstream movement (swimming behavior) was investigated in land-locked sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka, using an artificial raceway. During the downstream migratory period, T implant resulted in high plasma T levels and inhibited the occurrence of downstream swimming behavior (negative rheotaxis) in yearling (1+) immature smolts. In terms of upstream behavior, 2-year-old (2+) males exhibited high plasma T and 11-KT levels, while 2+ females had elevated T and DHP levels. In 1+ immature fish, a T implant induced upstream swimming behavior (positive rheotaxis). In experiments 1 and 3, the plasma T-4 and T-3 levels of non-migrants tended to be higher than those of migrants. In contrast, no marked changes in plasma and pituitary LH were found in both downstream and upstream migrants. These results suggest that sex steroids, such as T, play significant roles in the regulation of downstream and upstream swimming behaviors in land-locked sockeye salmon.