ACCTG 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Handicap Principle, Geranium Maculatum, Spermalege
Document Summary
Among eukaryotes, the vast number of species (>99%) reproduce sexually. (this lecture will focus on the causes and consequences of sexual reproduction) The dominant mode of reproduction in eukaryotes. The fact that sexual reproduction is the rule rather than the exception in eukaryotes is a paradox given the non-trivial costs of sex. Through recombination, parent risk producing offspring that are less fit than themselves. Asexual population doubles every generation; the sexual population remains constant. One of the reasons why the prevalence of sexual reproduction is so surprising is the phenomenon referred to as the twofold cost of sex" a point raised by the. If we imagine two populations, one reproducing asexually (a mother producing clones of herself) and one reproducing sexually (through the fusion of male and female gametes), the population growth rate will be higher in the sexually reproducing population. We would then expect the asexually reproducing line to be evolutionarily much more successful.
