with many found to be sufficiently diverse and thus favorable for use in population genetics, individual
identification, and parentage studies [21]. In this study we used a subset of the microsatellite markers
developed by Toussaint et al., 2012 to measure genetic variability within and between giant Pacific
octopuses captured and sampled from Oregon (OR), the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca near
Neah Bay (NB), throughout central Puget Sound (PS) and the southeast coast of Vancouver Island,
British Columbia, Canada (BC). Specific questions were: how much genetic variability do giant Pacific
octopuses within these regions have, what is their population structure, and are eggs from a female’s
clutch fertilized by multiple males?