Adaptation and Natural Selection

Sexual Reproduction

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Williams' definition of sexual reproduction:

Reproduction is sexual if it produces offspring with new combinations of the parental genes, and does so by means of machinery designed to produce that result. (p. 125, Uchii's italics)

You should keep this in mind, since the subsequent arguments depend on this definition. Reproduction is not sexual in Williams' sense, if it merely produces offspring with new combinations of genes. And even if reproduction is made by organisms with sexual organs, it is not necessarily sexual. The two conditions (as stated in the quoation) must be met.

(1) Is sexual reproduction a biotic adaptation?

(2) The molecular basis of sexual reproduction is an ancient development.

(3) Genes are stable; mutations are not a biotic adaptation

(4) Is dominance an adaptation for evolutionary plasticity?

(5) Is ntrogressive hybiridization a biotic adaptation?

(6) Sex ratio and sex-determining mechanisms

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