What pitfall of asexual reproduction does A. gracilipes genetic flexibility help bypass?
Answer
Inbreeding depression
Species that rely heavily on cloning or asexual reproduction often face a significant evolutionary hurdle known as inbreeding depression, where deleterious recessive genes accumulate across generations because there is no beneficial 'shuffling' benefit associated with sexual reproduction. The yellow crazy ant's complex chimerism allows them to hedge their evolutionary bets; the worker caste can remain highly similar for colony function, while the reproductive queens continually introduce necessary genetic variation, thereby resisting the stagnation associated with unchecked inbreeding.
Related Questions
What is the scientific classification of the yellow crazy ant?What movement pattern gives the yellow crazy ant its common name?How long do yellow crazy ants rarely exceed in length?What is the unusual reproductive mechanism key to A. gracilipes colonization success?What pitfall of asexual reproduction does A. gracilipes genetic flexibility help bypass?Which caste in A. gracilipes incorporates stored paternal genes in a specialized manner?What is the main defense mechanism noted that A. gracilipes lacks compared to Solenopsis invicta?What endemic fauna on Christmas Island suffered catastrophic population crashes due to A. gracilipes predation?What results from the resource concentration and exclusion of other insects by supercolonies?What advantage does the ability to generate a genetically diverse reproductive caste give a single founding A. gracilipes queen?