Genetic variation in the eel II. Transferrins, haemoglobins and esterases in the eastern North Atlantic. Possible interpretations of phenotypic frequency differences

Abstract

Comparison, by electrophoretic methods, of eel samples from Iceland, Scotland and Germany confirmed previous reports of uniformity in haemoglobin types. When liver esterases were examined, significant differences in the frequencies of phenotypes in the ‘fast’ zone of the electropherogram were found between samples from Germany and samples from Iceland and Scotland. The frequencies of transferrin phenotypes in Icelandic and Scottish eels differed significantly from those of French and American eels.It follows that regional differences in gene frequencies probably exist within the species Anguilla anguilla. The implications for the ‘atlantic eel problem’ are briefly discussed.