Biochemical genetic variation in odd-year pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) from Kamchatka

Abstract

Electrophoretic analysis was conducted at 17 loci for eight populations of pink salmon spawning in odd years from the east coast of Kamchatka and one population from the Fraser River drainage in British Columbia. Heterogeneity in allelic frequencies among the Kamchatkan populations was observed at 5 loci (ADA, GPD, MDH-1,2, PGDH, and PGM). Substantial heterogeneity in allelic frequencies was observed between Kamchatkan populations and the Fraser River population. Cluster analysis, based on 5 loci surveyed in previous studies, indicated that pink salmon from the Fraser River and southern British Columbia were distinct from more northerly spawning populations in British Columbia, Alaska, and Kamchatka. The concept of a "fluctuating stock" population structure of pink salmon or random mixing during spawning over a large geographic area was not supported by observed patterns of genetic variation.