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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on July 2, 2009
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2009 66(8):1740-1748; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsp183
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© 2009 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

This article appears in the following ICES Journal of Marine Science issue: Herring: linking biology, ecology, and status of populations in the context of changing environments [View the issue table of contents]

Two components of Northeast Atlantic herring within the same school during spawning: support for the existence of a metapopulation?

Arne Johannessen1, Leif Nøttestad2, Anders Fernö1, Lise Langård2 and Georg Skaret2

1 Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Thormøhlensgt 55, N-5020 Bergen, Norway
2 Institute of Marine Research, PO Box 1870 Nordnes, N-5817 Bergen, Norway

Correspondence to A. Johannessen: tel: +47 55584460; fax: +47 55584450; e-mail: arne.johannessen{at}bio.uib.no

Johannessen, A., Nøttestad, L., Fernö, A., Langård, L., and Skaret, G. 2009. Two components of Northeast Atlantic herring within the same school during spawning: support for the existence of a metapopulation? – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1740–1748.

It has been hypothesized that some stocks of Atlantic herring are subject to genetic exchange and therefore should fit the definition of a metapopulation with subunits. Genetic exchange requires spatial overlap of individuals from different populations during spawning. We investigated a local herring population that is assumed to feed and spawn within the semi-enclosed marine ecosystem of Lindåspollene in west Norway, which is connected with the outer fjord only by a narrow sill. Acoustic recordings and gillnet samples demonstrated the mixed presence of two components within a single school throughout the spawning period 2005–2007. Members of the two components were of about the same size and in a similar stage of gonad development at all times, but the age composition was completely different. These observations represent the first documented case of different components being present in a spawning school and provide strong indications of regular interbreeding. Our data suggest that the two components represent autochthonous Lindås herring and allochthonous herring of coastal/oceanic origin, thereby supporting the metapopulation concept. Two alternative explanations, based on one migratory and one resident component of a single Lindås stock, are also discussed.

Keywords: Clupea harengus, interbreeding, maturity, metapopulation, Northeast Atlantic herring, population structure

Received 25 November 2008; accepted 19 March 2009; advance access publication 2 July 2009.


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