What are the advantages and disadvantages of asexual reproduction compared with sexual reproduction?

Answer 1

advantages of asexual is that it reproduces easily by itself and it has 1 parent cell

Some advantages of asexual reproduction are

- Large numbers of offspring are reproduced very quickly from only one

parent when conditions are favourable.

- Large colonies can form that can out - complete other organisms for nutrients and water.

- Large numbers of organisms mean that species may survive when conditions or the number of predators change.

- Energy is not required to find a mate.

Some disadvantages of asexual reproduction are

- Offspring are genetic clones. A negative mutation can make a sexually produced organisms susceptible to disease and can destroy large numbers of offspring.

- Some methods of asexual reproduction produce offspring that are close together and compete for food and space.

- Unfavourable conditions such as extreme temperatures can wipe out entire colonies.

Answer 2

The main disadvantage of sexual reproduction is that it can be difficult for two organisms of the opposite sex to find each other and to mate. With asexual reproduction, any organism can reproduce whenever it wants to, or whenever it has the surplus of nutrients needed to do so. The main advantage of sexual reproduction is that it creates genetic variation, and by having varied offspring, there is a greater chance that at least some of those offspring will be well adapted to the changing environment. With asexual reproduction, genetic variation is very slight; there will be none at all unless there is a mutation induced by radiation, and even then, it will almost certainly be an unfavorable mutation rather than a useful one. So if an organism is not already well adapted to its environment, the genetically identical offspring of that organism will also be poorly adapted.

Answer 3

One advantage is that you don't need to find a sexual partner in order to reproduce. A disadvantage is a lack of genetic diversity.