Intro to Reproduction
Importance of Reproductive Success:
The survival of a species (group of interbreeding organisms that produces fertile young) depends on its reproductive success. In order for a species to not go extinct, they must make offspring so that they can continue to exist on earth. Reproducing allows an organism to pass down its genes to another generation so they can pass on those genes.
Asexual vs. Sexual:
The two different ways a species reproduces are asexually and sexually. The main difference between the two is that asexual reproduction only requires one organism but sexual reproduction involves two organisms. In sexual reproduction, two parents create genetically diverse offspring using meiosis. Each parent provides half the chromosomes (23) for the offspring to have a full set (46). Examples of species that use sexual reproduction are protists, fungi, animals and plants. During asexual reproduction, an individual makes a clone of itself through mitosis. There are different types of asexual reproduction. Binary fission is when DNA is doubled, then cells divide to create another copy. This is how prokaryotes like bacteria reproduce. Another form asexual reproduction is budding. Offspring branch and grow from the parent, some examples are sea anemone and hydras. Fragmentation (regeneration) is also a way to reproduce asexually, where piece of an organism (starfish, sponges) forms a new organism. Lastly, vegetative propagation, which is used by strawberries, occurs through a new plant growing from parts of the parent plant.
The survival of a species (group of interbreeding organisms that produces fertile young) depends on its reproductive success. In order for a species to not go extinct, they must make offspring so that they can continue to exist on earth. Reproducing allows an organism to pass down its genes to another generation so they can pass on those genes.
Asexual vs. Sexual:
The two different ways a species reproduces are asexually and sexually. The main difference between the two is that asexual reproduction only requires one organism but sexual reproduction involves two organisms. In sexual reproduction, two parents create genetically diverse offspring using meiosis. Each parent provides half the chromosomes (23) for the offspring to have a full set (46). Examples of species that use sexual reproduction are protists, fungi, animals and plants. During asexual reproduction, an individual makes a clone of itself through mitosis. There are different types of asexual reproduction. Binary fission is when DNA is doubled, then cells divide to create another copy. This is how prokaryotes like bacteria reproduce. Another form asexual reproduction is budding. Offspring branch and grow from the parent, some examples are sea anemone and hydras. Fragmentation (regeneration) is also a way to reproduce asexually, where piece of an organism (starfish, sponges) forms a new organism. Lastly, vegetative propagation, which is used by strawberries, occurs through a new plant growing from parts of the parent plant.
Tortoise Beetle Reproduction
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The Golden Tortoise Beetle reproduces sexually and lays eggs. The eggs are attached to the underside of leaves or on stems, and are usually a white color. The eggs are oval and flat-tened. They measure only about 1 mm in length and hatch in five to 10 days. Eggs are deposited in clusters of about 20 eggs. [1]
Beetle offspring are created by joining sperm from the father and eggs from the mother. When a male locates a female, he will usually start to court the female in a very specific way. He quickly strokes his antennae and his front pair of legs on the female's back while crawling on top of her. If the female accepts the male, the male will insert his adeagous into the female's genital opening and transfer a package of sperm. The sperm are stored in the female's reproductive tract and are used to fertilize eggs that develop. After mating, the male leaves the female and does not give any help in raising the offspring. The female will later lay the eggs that the male has fertilized, and the new individual begins its life. [2]
Beetle offspring are created by joining sperm from the father and eggs from the mother. When a male locates a female, he will usually start to court the female in a very specific way. He quickly strokes his antennae and his front pair of legs on the female's back while crawling on top of her. If the female accepts the male, the male will insert his adeagous into the female's genital opening and transfer a package of sperm. The sperm are stored in the female's reproductive tract and are used to fertilize eggs that develop. After mating, the male leaves the female and does not give any help in raising the offspring. The female will later lay the eggs that the male has fertilized, and the new individual begins its life. [2]