Microsatellite Variation Distinguishes Outer-Coastal and Fjord Populations of Pacific Herring in Southeast Alaska

Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) from the Gulf of Alaska were screened for temporal and spatial genetic variation with 14 microsatellite loci.  The study examined eleven collections from Southeast Alaska and two from Prince William Sound, Alaska.  A neighbor-joining tree based on genetic distance and homogeneity testing revealed that collections of the interior archipelago waters of southeast Alaska (both spawning and over-wintering fish from several year classes), clustered together and were divergent from the outercoast collections.  This divergence may be attributable to environmental differences between interior archipelago waters and outer-coast habitats, such as temperature and salinity.  Collections within these regions were relatively homogenous.  Southeast Alaska herring were significantly different from those in Prince William Sound.