Evolution of Sex Flashcards
Why is this even an issue? What is the inherent cost of sex we discussed in class?
Sex leads to a decreased rate of reproduction, females reproducing by themselves would have a higher fitness
What is parthenogenesis? How is this trait distributed in nature?
Clonal reproduction of females by other females. Some organisms practice this facultatively while other practice it exclusively. The latter involves organisms usually within a single clade with very little variation
What is Muller’s ratchet?
Muller’s ratchet- the accumulation of deleterious mutations in a sexual species
What is mutation load? What does this have to do with sex?
The accumulation of deleterious mutations and the effect that this has on a species by decreasing it’s fitness. Recombination in sexual organisms “breaks the ratchet”
How does the Red Queen Hypothesis fit into this?
Populations are constantly evolving to changing biological challenges and sex is a crucial way for species to keep pace with these challenges (Ex sexual organisms survive better than asexual organisms when the environment contains parasites)
