A STUDY OF POPULATION GENETICS IN THE EUROPEAN LOBSTER, HOMARUS GAMMARUS (DECAPODA, NEPHROPIDAE)

2001

By means of an RAPD analysis, the degree of genetic variation in the European lobster, Homarus gammarus, was assessed. We focused our attention on the Helgoland population, which is isolated by its geographical location. By comparison with seven other European lobster populations we demonstrated that the Helgoland lobster is genetically widely separated from other European lobster stocks. However, all populations investigated showed high values of genetic distance, indicating that genetic exchange among European populations of Homarus gammarus may be restricted. The European lobster populations appeared to be isolated by distance since the pattern of genetic relationships reflects their geo…