Microsatellites and the Major Histocompatibility Complex of the Atlantic Walrus Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus (Linnaeus, 1758) in Haulouts of the Barents Sea

The allelic diversity of the DQB gene of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in the Atlantic walrus from the European part of the Arctic was analyzed for the first time. We studied animals from the haulouts located on the Franz Josef Land archipelago and near the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya. We demonstrated that there are significant differences for this locus between the two studied haulouts. Simultaneous analysis of microsatellite loci reveals a lower level of differentiation and also suggested that animals from more than one spatial-geographical stock (population) gather at the summer haulout on Novaya Zemlya. It has been suggested that individuals with different MHC genotypes may prefer different feeding areas, regardless of the areas of residence during the breeding season.