Topic 3 – Passing It On   -characteristics that are passed on from the parents (mother and father) to their offspring (child) are said to be inherited or heritable -these traits are passed down through your genes, the genetic material that makes up your body (much like a map) ex. You look similar to both your father and mother; you have inherited traits

Reproductive Strategies 1. Asexual Reproduction -this is an duplicate of the parent; the parent and the offspring are exact copies (clones!!!) -they have the same genetic material, therefore the same characteristics

no… Advantage: There is no need to find a mate. Disadvantage: Since they are all the same, if one is vulnerable to the cold then they are all vulnerable to the cold.

a) Binary Fission -found normally in one celled organisms (ex. Amoeba)

Amoeba’s movement. Amoeba eating.

-each new cell is identical to the original -the organism begins to splits creating exact copies of its nucleus and organelles (organs) to form two new cells. -each new cell is identical to the original

b) Asexual Spores -found mainly in fungi, such as mushrooms -spores are single-celled, reproductive structures similar to an egg except that it is an exact copy of the parent

-spores can be made by the thousands and can survive in almost any type of environment -spores found in the arctic that were thousands of years old easily grew when they were placed in suitable habitat -zoospores are similar to spores except they have flagella (tail-like structures) that move them around (ex. Chlamydomonas)

c) Budding -occurs in smaller animals such as sea sponges and hydra

-eventually this will detach and form a copy of the original organism -as a hydra grows, one of its cells will form a bud (much like a flower’s bud) and start to grow on its own Hydra Bud -eventually this will detach and form a copy of the original organism

d) Asexual Reproduction with Plants -the growing tips of roots and stems contain areas of rapidly reproducing cells called meristem -when a plant is damaged, these meristem cells can create copies of the damaged cells and the plant continues to grow

-by taking a cutting of the meristem, you can grow an exact copy of the plant (this is better known as a CLONE of the plant)

Asexual Review: * One parent so no need to find a mate * Offspring identical to parent * Very fast

* If the environment changes, the species could die off since there is no variation within the species and no ability to adapt.