Marine Bio quiz

Reproduction

The process of creating new individuals, essential for growth and maintenance of a population.

Asexual reproduction

Reproduction without the involvement of sex, leading to genetically identical offspring through methods like clonal growth and fission budding.

Sexual reproduction

Involves the combination of two sets of gametes to form a new individual, incurring costs such as the twofold cost and the need to find mates.

Genetic diversity

Benefits of sexual reproduction include the creation of new phenotypes without mutations, increased diversity, and resilience to environmental variability.

Sexual selection

The process of selection for traits that increase mating success, often driven by conspecific competition, which may not always be beneficial to survival.

Polymorphism

Physical differences between species, exemplified by traits like size differences in elephant seals or claw displays in fiddler crab males.

Gonochoristic

Organisms with separate sexes in different individuals, a common type of sexuality found in marine organisms.

Hermaphroditic

Organisms with both male and female sex organs in one individual, allowing for self-fertilization.

Eusociality

Social structure seen in species like snapping shrimp, involving a queen, males, and immatures with cooperative behavior across generations.

Life History Theory

The concept of K vs. r selection strategies, where organisms differ in the number of offspring produced and the rate at which they mature.