Japan JSPS Program: Influence of Thyroid Hormones on the Behavior of Larval Flounder

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Japan JSPS Program: Influence of Thyroid Hormones on the Behavior of Larval Flounder This award will provide supplementary support to enable Dr. John Burke of the National Marine Fisheries Service Beaufort Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, to conduct collaborative research with Dr. Masaru Tanaka for 12 months at Kyoto University in Japan. Utilizing Dr. Burke's knowledge of American flounder, the team will study the effect thyroid hormones have on larval flounder immigrating from the sea to coastal nursery gounds. Flounder, like most marine fish, spawn at sea and their larvae are carried by tidal streams to coastal nursery grounds. During this migration, flounder larvae undergo a metamorphosis which is controlled by thyroid hormones. Burke's previous research has indicated that thyroid hormones induce eye migration as well as muscle development in flounder. Together, Burke and Tanaka will investigate whether the thyroid hormones actually initiate the flounders' inshore migration and will predict the impact of water toxicants which disrupt such thyroid activity. Dr. Tanaka's technique for producing flounder larvae year round and his expertise in the early life of flounder will complement Dr. Burke's experience with studying the effects of thyroid hormones on the American flounder and will facilitate the controlled recruitment of flounders in the United States and Japan.