2.3a Costs and Benefits of Sexual and Asexual Reproduction

Question 1

What are the costs of sexual reproduction?

Answer 1

• males unable to produce offspring
• only half of each parent’s genome passed onto offspring, disrupting successful parental genomes

Question 2

Explain the benefits and costs of sexual reproduction

Answer 2

Benefits outweigh costs due to an increase in genetic variation in the population

Question 3

What is the role of genetic variation?

Answer 3

provides the raw material required for adaptation, giving sexually reproducing organisms a better chance of survival under changing selection pressures