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

• Published in: ICES Journal of Marine Science
• Main Authors: Ryan, Anthony W., Mattiangeli, Valeria, Mork, Jarle
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2005
• Subjects: Barents Sea; Northeast Atlantic; Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icesjms.2005.03.006; http://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article-pdf/62/5/948/29151257/62-5-948.pdf

Abstract 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 = 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 Hebrides in 1992 and 1998.