Inbreeding and outbreeding depression in Daphnia

Egg-to-adult viability of sexual offspring in Daphnia magna is lower for selfed (average: 43.0%) than for outcrossed families (average: 74.7%). This suggests that intraclonal mating is not the rule in Daphnia populations. For a given family, hatching rate of eggs resulting from interpopulation crosses is lower than for intrapopulation crosses. This breakdown in hatching responses may result in the effective gene flow between Daphnia populations being severely reduced, offering an explanation for the apparent paradox of genetic differentiation of Daphnia populations in spite of efficient dispersal.