Journal of Plankton Research plankt.oxfordjournals.org J. Plankton Res. (2016) 38(3): 610–623. First published online April 21, 2016 doi:10.1093/plankt/fbw025 Phylogeography and connectivity of the Pseudocalanus (Copepoda: Calanoida) species complex in the eastern North Pacific and the Pacific Arctic Region JENNIFER MARIE QUESTEL1*, LEOCADIO BLANCO-BERCIAL2, RUSSELL R. HOPCROFT1 AND ANN BUCKLIN3 INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS, N. KOYUKUK DRIVE, O’NEILL BUILDING, FAIRBANKS, AK , USA, BERMUDA INSTITUTE OF OCEAN SCIENCES–ZOOPLANKTON ECOLOGY, ST. GEORGE’S, BERMUDA AND DEPARTMENT OF MARINE SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT, SHENNECOSSETT ROAD, GROTON, CT , USA *CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
[email protected] Received December 14, 2015; accepted March 9, 2016 Corresponding editor: Roger Harris The genus Pseudocalanus (Copepoda, Calanoida) is among the most numerically dominant copepods in eastern North Pacific and Pacific-Arctic waters. We compared population connectivity and phylogeography based on DNA sequence variation for a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene for four Pseudocalanus species with differing biogeographical ranges within these ocean regions. Genetic analyses were linked to characterization of bio- logical and physical environmental variables for each sampled region. Haplotype diversity was higher for the temp- erate species (Pseudocalanus mimus and Pseudocalanus newmani) than for the Arctic species (Pseudocalanus acuspes and Pseudocalanus minutus). Genetic differentiation among populations at regional scales was observed for all species, except P. minutus. The program Migrate-N tested the likelihood of alternative models of directional gene flow between sampled populations in relation to oceanographic features. Model results estimated predominantly north- ward gene flow from the Gulf of Alaska to the Beaufort Sea for P.