RAPD and scnDNA analyses of polar cod, Boreogadus saida (Pisces, Gadidae), in the North Atlantic

Polar cod exhibits Variation over its distributional area both in morphometry, coloration and behaviour. Samples of polar cod from the Pechora Sea, off Svalbard (Spitsbergen), and from the Denmark Strait, previously analyzed for Variation at a series of allozymic loci plus at one scnDNA locus (Syp I), have now been subjected to arbitrary amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD-analysis). Polar cod from two extra sampling sites, Disko Bay (western Greenland) and the Porsangerfjord (northern Norway), have been analyzed for Syp I variation. The RAPD approach revealed extensive within-area polymorphism but insignificant between-area variation. The Syp I analyses revealed only two deviant specimens, one from Disko Bay, the other from the Porsangerfjord. In accordance with the previous survey, the present results provide no evidence of any population differentiation of polar cod in the investigated area.