Breeding system of Daphniopsis ephemeralis: adaptations to a transient environment

Abstract

Populations of the vernal cladoceran Daphniopsis ephemeralis are found in woodland ponds throughout southern Ontario. The species reproduces by cyclic parthenogenesis, and genotype frequencies at allozyme loci are ordinarily in good agreement with Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Occasional heterozygote deficiencies are apparently the consequence of admixture of ephippial hatchlings produced in temporally separated bouts of sexual reproduction. Considerable heterogeneity in genotypic frequencies exists among local populations in southwestern Ontario, indicating that gene flow among populations is restricted. Inbreeding coefficients suggest that populations receive an average of 0.3 migrants per generation. The completion of a sexual life cycle is made possible despite the brief persistence of populations by the emergence of males from ephippial eggs and by the production of equal numbers of male and female progeny in the first parthenogenetic brood.