Enzyme variability in natural populations of Daphnia magna. II. Genotypic frequencies in permanent populations.

In permanent habitats populations of the cyclical parthenogen, Daphnia magna, reproduce by continued parthenogenesis and are subject to only sporadic sexual recruitment. The genetic effects of this breeding system have been investigated by analyzing allozyme frequencies in thirteen populations of D. magna.-Genotypic frequencies at polymorphic loci characteristically deviated markedly from Hardy-Weinberg proportions and gametic phase imbalance between loci was frequent. Genotypic frequencies were subject to violent, selectively determined oscillations over short periods of time. These observations suggest that permanent populations of D. magna ordinarily consist of a limited number of highly structured genotypes. The adaptational advantages offered by such structuring may have been a major selective factor favoring the evolution of cyclical parthenogenesis.