Genetic differentiation of blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou Risso) populations at the extremes of the species range and at the Hebrides–Porcupine Bank spawning grounds

Abstract

J. 2005. Genetic differentiation of blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou Risso) populations at the extremes of the species range and at the HebridesePorcupine Bank spawning grounds. e ICES Journal of Marine Science, 62: 948e955.The blue whiting, Micromesistius poutassou (Teleostei, Gadidae) is found between latitudes 26( and 82(N along the continental margin of the Northeast Atlantic, with smaller populations in the Northwest Atlantic and the Mediterranean. There is an annual spawning aggregation on the Porcupine Bank and Hebridean Shelf (west of Ireland and Scotland, respectively), where most of the blue whiting population of the Northeast Atlantic spawns. Analysis of samples from the Barents Sea, the Northeast Atlantic, and the Mediterranean (n Z 850, 11 samples) using one minisatellite and five microsatellite loci revealed significant geographic heterogeneity and isolated populations at the extremes of the species range in the Barents Sea and the Mediterranean. Furthermore, there was evidence of genetic heterogeneity among samples taken during the spawning season on the Porcupine Bank and Hebridean Shelf, with highly significant differentiation between the samples taken in the

An investigation of the population genetic structure of pollack (Pollachius pollachius) based on microsatellite markers

“…The level of genetic differentiation detected between pairs of pollack samples was relatively limited (q 0.008), but rather similar to those observed in gadid fish of the Northeast Atlantic (Lundy et al, 1999;Hutchinson et al, 2001;Ryan et al, 2005).…”

Genetic structure of whiting Merlangius merlangus in the northeast Atlantic and adjacent waters

“…The low level of genetic differentiation underlined between whiting samples in the northeast Atlantic and adjacent waters is of the same magnitude as previously observed in gadid fish in the same geographical area, such as cod Gadus morhua (Hutchinson et al 2001), hake Merluccius merluccius (Lundy et al 1999) and blue whiting Micromesistius poutassou (Ryan et al 2005). The weak genetic structure generally displayed by marine organisms may be explained mainly by the considerable gene flow in the highly dispersive marine environment and the characteristically large population sizes.…”

“…data). These loci were selected because of the positive results obtained during cross-species amplifications (Brooker et al 1994, O'Reilly et al 2000, Ryan et al 2005. Loci amplifications via the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were performed on 5 individuals in 10 µl volumes containing 1 µl of DNA, 1× reaction buffer (Uptima), 0.074 mM dNTPs mix, 0.2 µM primers F and R, 0.25 U Taq Uptitherm DNA polymerase (Uptima) and between 1.5 and 2.5 mM MgCl 2 , depending upon the locus tested.…”

The management of the blue whiting fishery as complex social-ecological system: The Galician case

“…This possibility strongly emphasizes the need for a re-evaluation of assessment units and the appropriateness of current management techniques [39,43]. In the case study of blue whiting, the economic impact of the current fisheries management, and its lack of consideration of the genetic populations [46], is already causing high economic losses in coastal communities.…”