How does sexual reproduction affect evolution in comparison to asexual reproduction?

Answer 1

Sexual reproduction allows for a greater gene pool to be drawn from for more variations, thus allowing the possibilities for greater changes to occur.

Answer 2

Sexual reproduction alllows the mix of genes whereas asexual reproduction does not have genetic shuffling occur.

As others have stated, sexual reproduction is usually better for evolution since it allows for genetic diversity and can result in an organism having a trait which will allow is to be better adapted for an environment, or fight off disease easier. Without sexual reproduciton, ever organism will be the same within a species, making it susceptible to environmental influences, and likely causing the loss of most, if not all, of the population.

But asexual reproduction does have its uses. Asexual reproduciton is used when the environment has almost no chance of changing (like deep on the ocean floor). In this case, why should the organism change its DNA? If the environment is the same, with no chance of change, there is no point in spending a lot of energy in sexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction can also be a last ditch effort to save a species such as when the species is under stress (low shark populations). Recently, sharks in captivity have shown to undergo asexual reproduction, likely in response to environmental factors either in captivity or the wild.

Answer 3

Looks like the Creationist got tired of asking why we evolved from monkeys. Now the shift to another tack.

For those that don't know it Creationist insist that asexual reproduction is clearly the tract from which all life evolved. They don't have any evidence to support that though. Of course the real source of all life is the Creator to them. But, they think they know more about biology than the biologist, so.

As previous people posting to the question have pointed out. Sexual reproduction continues and enhances the variability of a living orgasm. Asexual reproduction is cloning. Simply making another copy of the parent. Not much chance for evolving, asexually. It does not take a genius to see that.

It's kinda funny. These same folks are very much against cloning. Yet they support asexual reproduction. Once again the hypocrisy of religion stands out.

Answer 4

In sexual reproduction, there is more of a chance of change in the species, due to the pact that there are two sets of everything, one from each parent. In Asexual reproduction, the only time a change could happen was if there was some kind of mutation during the splitting of DNA. In sexual reproduction, you can have mutations, and you can have recombination which allows different genes from different parents to match up, creating a unique individual, while asexual is kind of like more efficient cloning.

Answer 5

I think sexual reproduction affects evolution in a slower but more efficiant way to that of asexual reproduction. If you think about it all the animals including humans who sexually reproduce live longer than those that reproduce asexually like things like worms however there are more of them. I dont know know im talking about it... i think the both are in balance with each other although perhaps animals who sexually reproduce are alot more intelligant in comparison to asexual animals/insects/reptiles and therefore may learn the purpose of what these animals do and over time will have no need for asexual reproduction. Did that make sense? lol. Thats a lot of reproduction!

Hope it was answered ok...

Answer 6

simply put, sexual reproduction requires two individuals to combine their genetic material which will give rise to variation (when a species may need members with a genetic disposition to adapt to change). Asexual reproduction is great when all you need to do is vastly increase the population (when resources are constant and abundant) so is ideal for simple organisms such as bacteria or protozoa.

The mechanism is simple - the organism duplicates all its genetic material and splits in half, or it may have cells that develop into a clone which then "bud" off the parent.

Some species are hermaphrodite while other species begin as female and then at some environmental cue one of their number will undergo transformation into the alpha male. And some such as aphids are all female.

Humans can undergo asexual reproduction - monozygotic twins are the product of asexual reproduction.

Answer 7

With asexual reproduction, only the genes of that organism will be passed on, whether they are good or bad. With sexual reproduction, there are certain qualities that attract mates which usually correspond to qualities that help with the advancement of the species. Also, with sexual reproduction there is a chance that negative genes will be bred out. By the same token, there is a chance that good genes will be bred out too. Asexual is cloning, while sexual is gene diversification.

Answer 8

The main thing it does is increase genetic diversity. Through sexual reproduction, each generation is different and takes on diversity from two parents. Asexual reproduction has less diversity, but obviously allows for procreation in instances where there is high stress in a population. For example if the population is very low, another individual isn't needed.

Answer 9

Uh....I thought the word "asexual" meant NO sex...without sexual desire or having no sexual aspects...
If so, then there is no such thing as "asexual reproduction"...they ONLY way I know of to procreate a species is through sexual reproduction, of SOME kind....even artificial insemination requires some kind of sexual act to take place (to bring together sperm and egg, even if it's in a petrie dish....

Answer 10

As usual it's the strongest and fittest that carry on evolution.