UC Davis

We describe seventeen microsatellite loci isolated from longfin smelt, Spirinchus thaleichthys, which is an anadromous fish inhabiting estuarine and nearshore marine waters along the western Pacific coast. Five to 16 alleles per locus were detected, the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.33–0.93, and moderate levels of differentiation were found between collections. These polymorphic microsatellites will provide useful tools for studying population genetic structure at ecological scales within wild and propagated populations.