Answer:
Advantages and disadvantages of sexual and asexual reproduction
Sexual reproduction involves two parents and the joining of male and female gametes during fertilisation. The offspring inherit a mixture of genes from both parents, so are different to each other and their parents.
The advantages of sexual reproduction:
produces genetic variation in the offspring
the species can adapt to new environments due to variation, which gives them a survival advantage
a disease is less likely to affect all the individuals in a population
Explanation:
In asexual reproduction there is only one parent. The offspring are clones of the parent and each other.
The advantages of asexual reproduction include:
the population can increase rapidly when the conditions are favourable
only one parent is needed
it is more time and energy efficient as you don't need a mate
it is faster than sexual reproduction
The disadvantages of sexual reproduction:
time and energy are needed to find a mate
it is not possible for an isolated individual to reproduce
The disadvantages of asexual reproduction include:
it does not lead to genetic variation in a population
the species may only be suited to one habitat
disease may affect all the individuals in a population
