Pros & Cons Of Sexual and Asexual Reproduction

• Advantages of sexual reproduction:

  • produces variation in offspring
  • if the environment changes variation gives a survival advantage by natural selection
  • natural selection can be used by speeded up b humans in selective breeding to increase food production
• Advantages of asexual reproduction:

  • only one parent needed
  • more time and energy efficient as do not need to find a mate
  • after than seal reproduction
  • many identical offspring can be produced when conditions are favourable
• Some organisms reproduce by both methods depending on the circumstances

  • malarial parasites reproduce asexually in the human host, but sexually in the mosquito
  • many fungi reproduce asexually but spores also reproduce sexually to give variation
  • many plants produce seeds sexually, but also reproduce asexually by runners such as strawberry plants, or bulb division such as daffodils