INTENSE SELECTION OF MITE CLONES IN A HETEROGENEOUS ENVIRONMENT

Genetic diversity within obligatorily parthenogenic species can be high, contrary to common views of the evolutionary consequences of this reproductive system. How this clonal diversity is maintained within populations is not clearly understood. Previous studies showing high clonal diversity have used parthenogenic organisms with known sexual forms or relatives. Here we report significant spatial and temporal clonal diversity within two populations of an obligatorily parthenogenic mite, Penthaleus major, which has no known sexual form or close sexual relative. Fitness estimates from temporal sampling at two sites and manipulated field plots reveal intense natural selection acting on ecologically different clones. We propose that environmental heterogeneity contributes to the maintenance of clonal diversity within populations of P. major and that selection is strong enough to overcome the problems of relative niche size.