Reproduction

• Asexual reproduction: The genes of new individual all come from one parent
• without the fusion of egg and sperm
• Sexual reproduction: the creation of offspring by the fusion of haploid gametes to
form a diploid zygote (fertilized egg).
• Fission - separation of one parent into two or more equal size offspring
• Budding - a new individual splits off from the parent or remains joined to form a
colony. e.g. Cnidarians (Hydra) grows out from the parental body
• Fragmentation - breaking of the body into several pieces each of which develops
into an adult
• Parthenogenesis - development of an egg without fertilization. e.g. male honey bees
(drones) develop parthenogenetically; females develop from fertilized eggs; other
animals which employ this form of reproduction are Daphnia, a freshwater
crustacean, and some fish, amphibians and lizards.
• Hermaphroditism - each individual has both functional male and female
reproductive parts; found in animals which have difficulty finding a
• member of the opposite sex. Each individual has functional male and female
reproductive parts. • Solves the problem of finding a mate of the opposite sex for
some
• sessile, burrowing, and parasitic animals.
• Sequential Hermaphroditism - an individual reverses its sex during its lifetime.
Some species are protogynous (female first). Others are protandrous (male first). •
Reversal often associated with age and size. e.g. some fish (Blue wrasse), some
Mollusca (some oysters and some marine snails)
• Fertilization is the joining of a sperm cell (pollen) and an egg cell (ovule)
• External fertilization- eggs are shed by female and fertilized by a male in the
environment
• Internal fertilization- sperm are deposited in or near the female reproductive tract
and fertilization occurs in the female's body.
• oviparous - egg layers, embryo feeds off of egg yolk and is not protected in the
mother, young hatch from egg, i.e. fish, amphibians, some reptiles, birds, duck billed
platypus (mammal)
• ovoviviparous - egg carried in mother but mother does not nourish the embryo, egg
hatches in mother and mother gives birth to young alive, i.e. sharks, some snakes,
spiny anteater (mammal-monotreme)
• viviparous - egg which develops into an embryo is carried in mother and nourished
by mother via a placenta, birth of young alive, i.e. all mammals (except where noted
above)
• The cloaca, Existed in many non-mammalian vertebrates, The digestive, excretory,
and reproductive systems have a common opening to the outside, Probably present in
the ancestors of all vertebrates.
• The uterus, Existed in most vertebrates - Most vertebrates is divided into two
chambers except: mammals that produce a few young birds, snakes
• Pollination- The transfer of pollen from the male part of the plant (stamen) to the
female part (pistil) of the plant
• Flowers are the reproductive structures of some plants.
• Filament - thin stalk
• Anther - knob at top of stalk
• Stigma - sticky top where pollen grains land
• Style - stalk down which pollen tube grows
• Ovary - contains the ovule (egg cell)
• Seeds - structures that contain a young plant inside a protective covering
• Vegetative propagation is the process of growing new plants from plant parts.
• Asexual Reproduction: Bulbs
Bulbs are underground stems. Bulbs are big, round buds made of a stem and special
types of leaves. Bulbs are not connected to the parent. Examples: Onion, Tulip, Iris
• Asexual Reproduction: Runners
Runners are stems that run along the ground. Runners are long and skinny.
Runners are connected to the parent. Examples: Grass (centipede), Ivy,
Strawberries
• Asexual Reproduction: Stem Cuttings
When a piece of cut stem is planted, roots may form from the cutting. Then a full
plant develops. Examples: Sugar cane,Pineapple
• Asexual Reproduction: Roots
Roots send out new shoots, called “suckers”. Some plants can produce new plants
from root pieces. Examples: Fruit trees, Sweet potatoes
• Asexual Reproduction: Leaves
Some houseplants produce little plants right on their leaves. Examples: African
violets

EXERCISES
1. Why is reproduction essential for organisms?
2. Which is a better mode of reproduction sexual or asexual? Why?
3. Why is the offspring formed by asexual reproduction referred to as clone?
4. Offspring formed due to sexual reproduction have better chances of
survival. Why? Is this statement always true?
5. How does the progeny formed from asexual reproduction differ from those formed by
sexual reproduction? 6. Distinguish between asexual and sexual reproduction. Why is
vegetative reproduction also considered as a type of asexual reproduction?