Genetic polymorphism and evolution in parthenogenetic animals

The extent of polymorphism within and between different populations of two triploid and parthenogenetic beetle species, Bromius obscurus and Otiorhynchus salicis, is described. Three different methods for constructing phylogenetic trees, namely the unweighted pair-group arithmetic average clustering (UPGMA), the Fitch-Margoliash and the distance Wagner procedures, have been applied to these data. To evaluate the results, the goodness-of-fit criterion is used. Different methods give the best fit for the two sets of data. These three methods of constructing phylogenies are useful in determining the genotype clusters of parthenogenetic forms in relation to their ecology and adaptation to the environment.