Hormonally Derived Pheromones in Teleost Fishes

Chapter 3 Hormonally Derived Pheromones in Teleost Fishes Norm Stacey, Norm StaceySearch for more papers by this author Norm Stacey, Norm StaceySearch for more papers by this author Book Editor(s):Peter W. Sorensen, Peter W. Sorensen Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this authorBrian D. Wisenden, Brian D. Wisenden Biosciences Department, Minnesota State University at Moorhead, Moorhead, Minnesota 55603, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this author First published: 19 December 2014 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118794739.ch3Citations: 3 AboutPDFPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShareShare a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Summary Fishes commonly use reproductive hormones and their precursors and metabolites as "hormonal pheromones" that induce important behavioral and physiological effects in conspecifics. In goldfish, the best understood example is that periovulatory females release sex steroid and prostaglandin pheromones that increase male hormone levels, sexual behaviors, ejaculate volume, sperm motility, and paternity. Although such responses to released hormonal compounds have been described in only a dozen species, olfactory recordings indicate that several hundred species from major orders (Cypriniformes, Characiformes, Siluriformes, Salmoniformes, and Perciformes) are extraordinarily sensitive to water-borne hormonal compounds. Moreover, a number of these species discriminate a variety of hormonal compounds through multiple, highly specific olfactory receptor mechanisms, suggesting that, despite the limited chemical diversity of hormones per se, hormonal pheromones might be species-specific. The discovery of hormonal pheromones has fundamentally changed our concept of fish reproduction by illustrating how endogenous hormonal signals that originally evolved to coordinate reproductive processes within the individual have been co-opted as exogenous odorants that synchronize reproduction among conspecifics Citing Literature Fish Pheromones and Related Cues RelatedInformation