Pathology and biochemical genetic variation in the milkfish, Chanos chanos

Milkfish, Chanos chnos , were sampled from two geographical areas in the Hawaiian Islands approximately 200 miles apart, from Pearl Harbor on Oahu, and Puako on Hawaii. Differences in the incidence of gastritis, a stomach inflammation, and electrophoretic patterns of nuclear lens proteins from fish of the two areas suggested they were separate populations. Genetically, the pattern frequencies indicated homogeneity in the Pearl Harbor fish and heterogeneity in the Puako fish. The former may be a small population in which homozygousity was produced through genetic drift. The genetic heterogeneity of the Puako fish may indicate a single large population or a mixture of populations. These observations support the hypothesis, previously deduced from field studies, that milkfish have many nearshore spawning areas over a wide geographical range and, therefore, little opportunity for genetic interchange between the fish from widely separated areas. Pearl Harbor fish had the highest incidence of gastritis, which appeared to be due to a combination of polluted water and a possible genetic susceptibility to disease from inbreeding.