1. Survivorship and reproductive parameters of eightDaphniapulicariaclones were evaluated in a life‐table experiment under four dietary regimes ranging from food limitation to complete food deprivation.2.D.pulicariaexhibited both diet‐independent interclonal differences and genotype–environment interactions in life‐span.3. Reproduction ceased entirely or nearly so under the three treatments with lowest food availability. Under life‐long food limitation, differences between clones were evident in clutch sizes and age at first reproduction. Some clones produced ephippia at a markedly higher frequency than others under food‐limiting conditions.4. For most of the life‐history traits evaluated, within‐lake variation among clones exceeded differences between the two lake populations they represented.5. Intraspecific variations in response to periods of food deprivation and to extended quantitative or qualitative food‐limitation could affect the clonal composition ofDaphniapopulations. They are therefore of potential importance in determining the effect of altered phytoplankton assemblages on zoopla