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Author Topic:   the variety and evolution of reproduction methods over time.
jar
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Message 1 of 2 (810496)
05-30-2017 11:00 AM


I wonder if there is much interest in the amazing variety of different methods of reproduction that evolved over the billions of years there has been life on earth.
Just the sheer variety of different methods is astounding and the fact that the vast majority of methods are both inefficient and ineffective is a classic sign of evolution and the fact that life is not designed but simply another example of "just barely good enough" that seems the hallmark of living organisms throughout history.
For millions if not billions of years the only form of reproduction was either clonal splitting or cellular combination followed by division.
The former had the serious problem that simple duplication provided no variations and so the organisms were subject to total population extermination when conditions changed.
The latter provided the first introduction of variation where traits from one organism could get shared with a different organism.
When we move to the various modern methods of reproduction what is found is that most systems are extremely inefficient and failure to reproduce is the norm rather than success. Most such systems rely on large scale attempts to compensate for the high rate of failure. The tactics is common in both plant and animal species and this time of year is a particular nuisance. Plants produce pollen that is then dispersed randomly and may happen to fertilize another plant of the same species. A similar example from the animal side of the family is common in fish where a female releases a vast amount of eggs into the water and males release vast quantities of sperm and again random dispersal may result in some of the eggs being fertilized.
Then we also find that "male and female he created them" is actually the exception to the rule. The vast majority of species have neither males or females but rather are without sex; many species are both male & female; many have more than two genders and there are even species that change sex as needed or with age.
When we add in the fact of infant mortality where even successful reproduction does not mean a critter lives long enough to reproduce it seems clear that there is neither plan or design to reproduction and in fact entirely different models and methods have evolved where none are really reliable or effective and all simply barely good enough to continue.
AbE: Biological Evolution Please
Edited by jar, : suggest location

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Message 2 of 2 (810529)
05-30-2017 12:04 PM


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