GENETICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION IN THE EELPOUT ZOARCES VIVIPARUS

Abstract

The geographical variation in genotypic and morphological composition is compared for populations of the eelpout, Zoarces viviparus (L.), in Mariager Fjord, Denmark. The morphological characters are number of vertebrae, dorsal fin hard rays, pectoral fin rays, and pigment spots of dorsal fin. The geographical variation in these traits agrees well with that described by Johs. Schmidt half a century ago. The electrophoretical variation at five enzyme loci: Ada, EstIII, Got, PgmI and PgmII is described. The scale of differentiation is comparable for the two classes of traits, and differentiations between local populations down to a distance of about 10 km are shown.