Pros and cons of asexual and sexual reproduction.!
Plants and animals use two methods of reproduction to ensure
that their species continues. One of the two methods is sexual
reproduction. It involves the fusing of two gametes, or sex cells,
from each parent to produce the offspring.!
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Pros of Sexual Reproduction!
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In sexual reproduction, unlike in asexual reproduction two
parents are involved. Two gamete cells are combined to create a
new organism. Fertilization takes place which results in the
mixing of genetic material together. One of the main advantages
of sexual reproduction is that there is a large chance of an
unique organisms being created, and therefore of evolution
taking place. Thus the species would be able to better adapt to
new environmental conditions. Also new species could be
created in the process. Another advantage is that the new
organism formed with the mixed gametes of the parents has
chance of not getting the parent’s diseases passed to it.!
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Cons of Sexual Reproduction!
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One of the disadvantages is that only half the population
(females) is capable of gestation. Another one of the
disadvantages is that two parents have to be involved in the
process. Also having to find a mate and producing gamete cells
is also another disadvantage. Fertilization has to take place and
there is no guarantee that the nucleus of the male sex cell would
fuse with the female sex cell. Also this takes a long time and
there is no guarantee that an offspring would be born. !
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Asexual Reproduction!
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Asexual reproduction is a form of reproduction which only
involves one parent. Some methods of asexual reproduction are
the vegetative method. It is common in plants is where parts of
the plant fall of and form new ones. E.g. potato tubers!
Fragmentation is another type of asexual reproduction common
in plants. Mitosis is a common form of asexual reproduction in
unicellular protists, and binary fission is common in bacteria. !
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Pros of Asexual Reproduction!
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There are many advantages of asexual reproduction. One of
them is that only one parent is needed. There is a very good
chance that the offspring would be created successfully. It takes
a very short time and genetic material in the form of sex cells
need not be produced. Fertilization is not necessary either. They
have identical characteristics as their parents and are always of
the same species. Asexual reproduction is more reliable because
there are fewer steps to follow so less can go wrong.!
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Cons of Asexual Reproduction!
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One of the cons of asexual reproduction is that there is almost
no chance of evolution taking place. The offspring would almost
always be of the same species and would be identical to the
parents, so diseases and bad qualities are also passed down
directly from the parents to the offspring. One of the common
disadvantages of plants using the vegetative method is that they
are all susceptible to the same disease and are all effected by
adverse conditions in the same way.