Genetic variability in bloodworm (Glycera dibranchiata) populations in the Gulf of Maine

Genetic structure of eight Northwest Atlantic populations of the marine polychaeteGlycera dibranchiata Ehlers was examined with starch gel electrophoresis. Samples were collected during summer and fall 1981, and seven polymorphic and four monomorphic loci were consistently scored. Average heterozygosity (0.126) and percent polymorphic loci (59.3) were comparable to the averages reported for marine invertebrates. Minimum genetic distances between populations ranged from 0.003 to 0.093, levels typically associated with local populations of the same species in other taxa. Based on these data, inter- and intra-estuarine migration and gene flow appear to be low. Only two populations, separated by 13 km along the same river in New Brunswick, Canada, were not genetically different from each other. These findings may have relevance for management strategies in bloodworms.