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It is perhaps most commonly used in the context of biological reproduction and sex:

• Sexual reproduction is a biological process by which organisms create descendants through the combination of genetic material. These organisms have two different adult sexes, male and female.
• Asexual reproduction is a biological process by which an organism creates a genetically similar copy of itself without the combination of genetic material with another individual. For example, the Hydra ( invertebrates of the order Hydroidea) and yeast are able to reproduce by budding. These organisms do not have different sexes, and they are capable of "splitting" themselves into two or more parts and regrow their body parts. Some 'asexual' species, like hydra and jellyfish, may also sexually reproduce. Most plants are capable of vegetative reproduction. Other ways of asexual reproduction are binary fission, fragmentation and spore formation .

There are a wide range of reproductive strategies employed by different species.

Some animals, like the human (sexually mature after adolescence) and Northern GannetNorthern Gannet : Animalia : Chordata : Aves : Pelecaniformes :: Sulidae Morus bassanus Binomial name Morus bassanus Linnaeus, 1758 The Northern Gannet Morus bassanus or Sula bassana is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. Young birds are black (5-6 years), produce few offspring. Others reproduce quickly, but unless raised in an artificial environment, most offspring do not survive to adults. A rabbitRabbit usually refers to the European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus a native of southern Europe. It has been widely introduced elsewhere often with devastating effects on local biodiversity. Rabbits in the wild The European Rabbit is a small grey-brown mam (mature after 8 months) produces 10 - 30 offspring per year, a Nile Crocodile (15 years) produces 50, and a fruit fly (10-14 days) produces up to 900. Both strategies can be favoured by evolutionThis article is about biological evolution. For other possible meanings, see Evolution (disambiguation). Evolution generally refers to any process of change over time. However, in the context of the life sciences, evolution is a change in the genetic make: animals with few offspring can spend time nurturing and protecting them, hence greatly decreasing the need to reproduce; on the other hand, animals with many offspring do not need to spend parental energy on nurturing, allowing more energy to be devoted to survival and more breeding.

These two strategies are known as K-selection (few offspring) and r-selection (many offspring). Which strategy is favoured depends on a wide range of circumstances.

1 See also

• conjugationThe word conjugation has several meanings: Grammatical conjugation is the modification of a verb from its basic form. In biology, conjugation is sexual reproduction involving interchange of DNA between cells, rather than their fusion. Various forms of con
• sexual intercourse
• father
• paternity
• mother
• custody
• self-replication
• reproductive technology