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Asexual viviparity and population genetics of Actinia tenebrosa

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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.

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Communicated by G.F. Humphrey, Sydney

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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

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