Abstract
The intertidal anemone Actinia tenebrosa is viviparous. An electrophoretic study of 3 polymorphic enzymes in Western Australian populations has confirmed genetic identity of adults and their brood young, indicating asexual reproduction. The population effects of this clonal reproduction are seen as linkage disequilibrium and departures from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium within populations, and large differences between populations. The data also suggest occasional sexual reproduction, and the likelihood of a mixture of reproductive modes in this species.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Boyden, A.: Perspectives in zoology, 288 pp. Oxford: Pergamon Press 1973
Brewer, G.J.: An introduction to isozyme techniques, New York: Academic Press 1970
Cain, A.J.: Breeding system of a sessile animal. Nature, Lond. 247, 289–290 (1974)
Campbell, R.D.: Cnidaria. In: Reproduction of marine invertebrates, pp 133–199, Ed. by A.C. Giese and J.S. Pearse. London: Academic Press 1974
Chia, F.-S.: Sea anemone reproduction: patterns and adaptive radiations. In: Coelenterate ecology and behaviour, pp 261–270. Ed. by G.O. Mackie. New York: Plenum Press 1976
—: and M.A. Rostron: Some aspects of the reproductive biology of actinia equina (Cnidaria: Anthozoa). J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 50, 253–264 (1970)
Francis, L.: Clone specific segregation in the sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 144, 64–72 (1973)
Hebert, P.D.N.: Enzyme variability in natural populations of Daphnia magna. II. Genotypic frequencies in permanent populations. Genetics, Austin, Tex. 77, 323–334 (1974)
Hyman, L.H.: The invertebrates. I. Protozoa through Ctenophora, 726 pp. New York: McGraw Hill 1940
Levinton, J.: Genetic variation in a gradient of environmental variability: marine bivalvia (Mollusca). Science, N.Y. 180, 75–76 (1973)
Mackie, G.O.: Locomotion, flotation, and dispersal. In: Coelenterate biology, pp 313–357. Ed. by L. Muscatine and H.M. Lenhoff. London: Academic Press 1974
Ottaway, J.R.: Population ecology of the intertidal anemone Actinia tenebrasa. I. Geographical distribution, synonymy, reproductive cycle and fecundity. Aust. J. Zool. 27, 273–290 (1979)
—: and G.C. Kirby: Genetic relationships between brooding and brooded Actinia tenebrosa. Nature, Lond. 255, 221–222 (1975)
—: and I.M. Thomas: Movement and zonation of the intertidal anemone Actinia tenebrosa Farqu. (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) under experimental conditions. Aust. J. mar. Freshwat. Res. 22, 1–9 (1971)
Potts, D.C.: Growth interactions among morphological variants of the coral Acropora palifera. In: Coelenterate ecology and behaviour, pp 79–88, Ed. by G.O. Mackie, New York: Plenum Press 1976
Selander, R.K., M.H. Smith, S.Y. Yang and W.E. Johnson: Biochemical polymorphism and systematics in the genus Peromyscus. I. Variation in the old-field mouse Peromyscus polionotus. Studies in Genetics VI. Univ. Tex. Publs 7103, 49–90 (1971)
Williams, G.C.: Sex and evolution, 200 pp. Princeton: Princeton University Press 1975
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by G.F. Humphrey, Sydney
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Black, R., Johnson, M.S. Asexual viviparity and population genetics of Actinia tenebrosa . Mar. Biol. 53, 27–31 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00386526
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00386526