Affiliation: | (1) School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK;(2) Falkland Islands Government Fisheries Department, Stanley, Falkland Islands;(3) Department of Biological Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK;(4) Present address: Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, Australia |
Abstract: | The Patagonian squid, Loligo gahi D Orbigny, has been described as having temporally and spatially identifiable spawning aggregations. Variation at six microsatellite loci was used to assess whether seasonal and geographical spawning groups around the Falkland Islands represent distinct sub-populations. Genetic variation at these loci is high in this species (mean expected heterozygosity=0.87; mean number of alleles=14.7). No evidence of significantly different allele frequencies was found, either between samples from putative spawning cohorts or geographical areas, indicating that L.gahi around the Falkland Islands comprise a single genetically homogeneous population. Age structure analysis of samples (from statolith growth increments) indicated substantial spread in hatching dates among individuals of similar size and maturity status, suggesting the potential for extensive interbreeding between seasonal cohorts. A sample of L.gahi from the SE Pacific (Peru) displayed distinctly different gene frequencies (and allele size distribution at one locus) from SW Atlantic samples, supporting the suggestion that SE Pacific and SW Atlantic populations may represent distinct subspecies.Contributed by J.P. Thorpe, Port Erin |