Genetic and some ecophysiological traits of mussels collected in the Europe
an Arctic, up to their northeastern distribution limit in the Barents Sea,
were studied and compared with traits of mussels from the Mediterranean, At
lantic and Baltic. The genetic traits of these populations we-re analysed b
y isoenzyme electrophoresis on seven loci in order to assess the Mytilus co
mplex to which populations in the Arctic region belong. Ecophysiological va
riables, the weight-index and glycogen were analysed to assess the physiolo
gical fitness of the populations. Three distinct groups were recognised: (1
) Mytilus (edulis) galloprovincialis in the Mediterranean and Spain, (2) M.
(edulis) edulis along the Atlantic coast from the Netherlands northwards i
nto Russia, and (3) the Baltic Mytilus (edulis) trossulus. The mussels from
populations in the Russian Arctic all belong to the Atlantic Mytilus (edul
is) edulis group. The genetic variability and ecophysiological measures ind
icated that the sub-Arctic White Sea mussel populations have a relatively l
ower performance capacity, whereas those in the Arctic at the edge of their
northern distribution showed a surprisingly strong performance.