Transport Of Planktonic Copepods Between Atlantic And Arctic Waters Near Iceland: Rapid Assays Of Genetic Diversity And Structure For The Copepod Calanus Finmarchicus

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Large-scale circulation patterns in the N. Atlantic may partition the ocean basin into three semi-distinct gyre systems: the Norwegian Sea, the northern N. Atlantic, and the western N. Atlantic. Zooplankton entrained in these gyres may be ecologically, reproductively, and (perhaps) genetically distinct due to geographic isolation in different circulation systems and/or to isolation by distance. In an ongoing study of the distribution, abundance, and genetic variation of the ecologically important copepod Calanus finmarchicus in Icelandic waters, we are working to identify population genetic markers for mapping the species ˇ molecular genetic diversity and structure at appropriate scales and resolution in relation to water mass structure and ocean circulation patterns. We report here on the results from preliminary population genetic analysis using two different genetic markers: a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the DNA sequence of the gene encoding phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) and a genomic fingerprinting analysis of amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). Our goal is to select a suitable population genetic approach, in order to describe ocean basin patterns of population genetic diversity and structure of the copepod and to allow integration of genetic information with numerical biological-physical models. Eventually we seek to test the three-gyre hypothesis of N. Atlantic circulation.