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Why might an asexual population, in theory, grow twice as fast as a sexual one?
AEvery individual lives twice as long
BEvery individual can produce offspring
CEvery individual needs half the food
DEvery individual makes twice the eggs
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. Every individual can produce offspring
1. In a sexual population roughly half the individuals are male.
2. Males do not themselves produce the offspring.
3. So only about half the population contributes directly to the next generation.
4. In an asexual population every individual is capable of reproduction.
5. Twice as many reproducing individuals gives, in theory, twice the growth rate.
6. The advantage is about who reproduces, not about lifespan.
7. Food demand per individual is not what the comparison rests on.
8. The clutch size per individual is not doubled either, only the fraction that reproduces.
_Source: OpenStax Biology 1e (CC BY 4.0), Chs 10 and 11, section 11.2 Sexual Reproduction_
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