Gamete dimorphism and the cost of sexual reproduction: Are they separate phenomena?
✍ Scribed by J.T. Manning
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1975
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 165 KB
- Volume
- 55
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0022-5193
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
In recent years the evolution of sexual reproduction and gamete dimorphism has been the subject of renewed speculation. Generally authors have considered these phenomena separately. Thus recent papers on the evolution of sexual reproduction have not discussed the establishment of anisogamy (Maynard Smith, 1971a,b; Williams & Mitton, 1973). Anisogamy itself is generally considered to have evolved from isogamy and the latter to have arisen after the establishment of sexual reproduction (Baker & Parker, 1973;Parker, Baker & Smith, 1972). The purpose of this short note is to point out that the phenomena of isogamy/anisogamy are intimately related to the maintenance of sexual reproduction.