Reproduction:

The Continuity of Life

Reproduction

Sexual Asexual
Reproduction Reproduction
 Methods Advantages Disadvantages

Sexual Internal fertilization Offspring less

likely to have
mutations show up Does require a mate
External fertilization Successful traits can to reproduce
be selected and Population increases
failed traits can be are limited
prevented from
passing on
Asexual Budding
Uniformity in Lack of diversity in
Regeneration offspring
offspring
Can increase Because they
Fission
populations rapidly reproduce offspring
genetically identical
Does not require a to parents, the
Parthenogenesis mate for offspring inherit any
reproduction to mutations of the
take place parent.
Asexual Reproduction:
Genetically Identical Offspring

• Budding
• Regeneration
• Fission
• Fragmentation
• Vegetative Propagation
• Parthenogenesis

… Cloning???
Budding…
 New Organisms
Arise as an
Outgrowth from the
Parent Organism
 Seen Mostly in
Marine Animals
 Examples Include;
Sponges, Corals and
Jellyfish…

Coral Polyp Photo courtesy Jeffrey N. Jeffords

http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/coral/coral1.htm
Regeneration…
 This refers to the ability
of some animals to
re-grow severed parts.

 Some of these animals

can also grow new
organisms from the
severed pieces
(Segmented Worms
and Sea Stars)
Fission

 This is the type of reproduction all

prokaryotes go through. The DNA is
copied, the cell enlarges and splits in 2.
Both cells then have the ability to grow as
large as the original cell.
Vegetative Propagation

 Asexual
reproduction in
plants when a
piece of the
original plant can
result in another
organism without
seeds or spores.
Fragmentation

 When pieces of
the parent
organism are
broken off and
grow in to
genetically
identical
organisms.
Parthenogenesis…
 Offspring can arise
from unfertilized eggs.
 Includes some Fish,
Reptiles, Amphibians
and Aphids.
http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/imageDetails?
invocationType=imageResults&query=photo http://www.duke.edu/
s+of+parthenogenic+species&img %7Ejsr6/Hawaiipics/
Rhampho.jpg

 Most of these species

can switch between
Sexual and Asexual
Reproduction.
(depending on conditions)
http://spot.colorado.edu/~noyesr/TEACHING/ www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu
4800%20Fall%202002.%20Biology%20and
%20Evolution%20of%20Sex/
Gynogenesis.Poecilia.pdf
 WHY???
 Why would these organisms prefer
asexual reproduction in stable conditions
and sexual reproduction in more
uncertain or less favorable conditions?
Imagine…
 Imagine that a particular organism within a
species lacks a certain gene (or ability to
express a certain gene) necessary to break
down a specific type of food, yet others of the
same species within the population are able to
break down that food.
 What happens if the uncertain or less
favorable conditions lead to that being the
primary food source?
Death…
 The parent organism and all of their
offspring produced through
parthenogenesis would die!

 But, with the genetic diversity that comes

from sexual reproduction the possibility of
the offspring surviving is enhanced.