In an environment characterized by stability, which reproductive strategy allows a clonal lineage of *Lepidophyma* to potentially dominate rapidly?
Answer
Rapid spread by bypassing the "two-fold cost of sex"
Asexual, parthenogenetic lineages possess a significant immediate advantage in stable environments. By reproducing clonally, these females do not incur the 'two-fold cost of sex,' meaning that every individual produced contributes directly to population growth without the need to produce non-reproductive males. If a highly successful genotype is established asexually, it can rapidly spread through a suitable, buffered habitat, leading to bursts of rapid colonization before environmental pressures necessitate the shuffling of genes provided by sexual reproduction.
Related Questions
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