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Divergence In Thyroid Hormone Concentrations Between Juveniles Of Marine And Stream Ecotypes Of The Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus Aculeatus), Jun Kitano, Sean C. Lema
Divergence In Thyroid Hormone Concentrations Between Juveniles Of Marine And Stream Ecotypes Of The Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus Aculeatus), Jun Kitano, Sean C. Lema
Sean Lema
Background: Hormones regulate the expression of multiple phenotypic traits. Therefore,
divergence in hormone concentrations may lead to evolutionary changes in the coordinated
physiological and behavioural traits that comprise an organism’s integrated phenotype. Adults
of marine ecotypes of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) have higher concentrations
of the thyroid hormone thyroxine (T4) than adults of stream-resident ecotypes (Kitano
et al., 2010). Thyroid hormones are well-established mediators of osmoregulation and migratory
behaviours in fish, and the difference in T4 concentrations indicates that changes in thyroid
hormone signalling may underlie the evolutionary and ecological divergence of migratory and
non-migratory ecotypes.
Questions: Is the variation …