Genetic variation between populations of the harp seal, Phoca groenlandica

Abstract

Liver and muscle tissue collected from harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) in the Newfoundland area were analysed by isoelectric focusing of five known variable enzyme systems. Allele frequencies were compared with corresponding frequencies previously recorded in north-east Atlantic samples. Muscle tissue collected from harp seals in the White Sea area and the Greenland Sea were analysed by DNA-fingerprinting. Samples were compared using band-sharing coefficients. Frequency distributions in AAT-2 and ME-1 were significantly different from those previously found in samples collected in the north-east Atlantic. Accordingly, it seems justified to divide the total stock of harp seals into one eastern and one western component. Highly variable profiles of Pal I digested genomic DNA were revealed using the human minisatellite 33.15 hybridization probe. Intra- and inter-population average band-sharing coefficients were uniformly low (range: 0.111-0.116). DNA-fingerprinting analyses did not reveal evidence for genetic differentiation between White Sea and Greenland Sea harp seals. © 1996 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.