Molecular Genetic Analysis of the Relationships and Origin of Smelt (Hypomesus, Osmeridae), a New Component of the Fauna of the Barents Sea

Abstract

This study examines the relationships and origin of a population of smelt (genus Hypomesus) that was recently found in the Barents Sea at a significant distance from the western boundary of its geographic range. Genetic analysis clearly identified this species as pond smelt H. olidus and showed its phylogenetic closeness and shared demographic history with H. olidus from the basin of the Bering Sea. Genetic differentiation indices suggest long isolation of populations of the Pacific and Barents Sea basins. The statistical estimates of historical demographic events, coupled with the paleographic data for the Arctic areas of Russia, show that certain populations of H. olidus might have survived in glacial refugia of the Polar Ural region. H. olidus might have passed repeatedly through a bottleneck in past glacial refugia, as well as in the recent time because of the harsh Arctic conditions.