Reproduction Flashcards
in evolutionary language, what is fitness described as
the ability of an organism to produce viable offspring that can reproduce viable offspring
what is fitness a function of
a broad range of evolutionary pressures
what is sex
gene recombination
what are the 2 main considerations of sex
the origin of sex
the maintenance of sex
what does each individual sperm contain
a unique set of genes derived from the father
half the genetic info required to make a new human being
what does each individual egg contain
a unique set of genes derived from the mother
half the genetic info required to make a new human being
when sperm and egg fuse the zygote is
diploid
describe sexual reproduction using cells
2 cells make 1
describe asexual reproduction using cells
1 cell makes 2
why should populations of female clones outcompete sexually reproducing males and females
males don’t produce off spring
what is the term for the way organisms reproduce without sex
clones
in organisms that can reproduce both sexually and asexually, what determines what strategy they use
evolutionary pressures
what may play a major role in sex
parasites
what does sex create
new combinations of genes which may or may not have elevated fitness compared to the parents
how has the sickle cell trade evolved
under the constant evolutionary pressure of malaria
what does the malaria parasite invade
red blood cells
how does sickle cell haemoglobin differ from normal haemoglobin
it becomes solid when O2 is removed, changing the shape of the red blood cell
is it more costly to produce males or females
males
what are the 2 Important factors in sex
group selection
selfish gene
what is Mullers’ Ratchet
a powerful reason why reproducing clonal may not be a good idea in populations
what are the 3 main ideas of mullers ratchet that support clonal reproduction
deleterious mutations will simply happen by chance
back mutation is rare
one round of sex can remove harmful material
why is parasitism a strong selective pressure in sex
most organism are infested with parasites
why do parasites and pathogens have a reproductive advantage
short generation times
why are smaller populations more vulnerable to disease and environmental change
they lack genes
what is the bottleneck effect
if a large population crashes, it will loose some of its genetic material.
even if it recovers in a short time it will have lost many genes
why are large, stable populations less vulnerable to extinction
they have genetic diversity
what happens when populations crash
they loose genes and therefore alleles which could be critical to survival
what can be worse than harmful mutations in clones
beneficial ones
what is selective interference
the effects clones have on each other
what is the selfish gene all about
an Individual getting their genes to the next generation
what determines the level of intraspecific sperm competition
female mating frequency
what do males prefer to mate with
non-mated females
