Localized adaptation of clones of the sea anemone Actinia tenebrosa.

Abstract

Adult Actinia tenebrosa were reciprocally transplanted within and between colonies separated by 2 or 4 km. Results revealed powerful genetic and environmental effects on adult size and asexual fecundity and demonstrate that clones may be highly locally adapted. Local adults displayed significantly greater asexual fecundity than do adults transplanted from other colonies, although all groups showed similar survivorships. This provides the first demonstration of fine scale adaptation, in either terrestrial or marine environments, for a clonal species with large, panmictic sexually breeding populations. -from Author Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Wollongong, P.O.Box 1144, Wollongong, New South Wales 2500, Australia.