Abstract

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA mark- ers (RAPDs) were applied in a cephalopod population study. Samples of the squid Moroteuthis ingens taken from around the Falkland Islands and Macquarie Island were used to test a null hypothesis that M. ingens forms a single, panmictic population in the Southern Ocean. Six of the 8 arbitrary RAPD primers screened produced a total of 30 reproducible polymorphic bands. Analysis of RAPD allele frequencies demonstrated high levels of variation between individuals but little variation between two sample sites. Although the differentiation between the two sites was low, subtle population structure was de- tected and the null hypothesis was rejected. The implica- tions of low genetic differentiation between the two sites are briefly discussed in terms of possible egg and para- larval drift facilitated via the circumpolar current.