Advantages/disadvantages of sexual and asexual reproduction

• Sexual reproduction


  • Variation in offspring
  • Offspring can survive if environment changes
  • Survival advantage by natural selection
  • Gives species a greater chance of survival
• Selective breeding


  • Modern strains of wheat have been selectively bred for years to produce a high yield of good-quality grain
• Asexual reproduction


  • More efficient in time and energy as they do not need a mate
  • Faster than sexual reproduction
  • Useful when conditions are favourable
  • Allows genetically identical offspring to be produced rapidly
• Asexual reproduction


  Very risky because they are all identical so they could all die if conditions are unfavourable
• Malaria parasite


  • Reproduces asexually in the human host
  • Reproduces sexually in the mosquito
• Fungi


  • Reproduce asexually by producing spores
  • Can sexually reproduce to produce variation in their offspring
• Flowering plants


  • Can reproduce sexually to produce seeds
  • Some like strawberry plants can reproduce asexually by sending out runners to produce a genetically identical plant
• Daffodils


  • Reproduce asexually by bulb division as the parent plant has an underground bulb which produces buds, which produce new offspring plants