The life cycle of a species generally has the same main stages: The initial
stage (starts with fertilization), the development and growth stage
(developing into an adult that can reproduce), and finally the reproductive
stage (adults).
AXESUAL
ANIMALS: (Nor very common)
Gemmation or Budding: A small bump or bud appears in the body of the
of progenitor and it grows and takes on the form of the adult (sponges)
Fragmentation: Each fragment regenerates into a whole new organism
(marine annelids)
Regeneration: Can regenerate an entire body from a detached fragment
(Starfish).
PLANTS
More common:
Spore formation: The plant produces small unicellular structures that
become new individuals without attaching themselves to other cells.
They are called spores (mosses and ferns)
Vegetative reproduction: Plants create new individuals from a particular
organ. Types:
Stolons: Aerial stems which root when they touch the ground
and produce new stems (Strawberry)
Fertilization: When pollen grain reaches the pistil of a flower from the
same species, it develops a tube that grows towards the ovule. The two
gametes inside the pollen grain travel down the pollen tube and double
fertilization takes place:
(i)
A male gamete joins a female gamete and the zygote forms (the
future embryo of the seed).
(ii)
The other male gamete joins the other female gamete and a food
reserve called albumen forms.
Seed dispersal: after fertilization the flowers petals fall off and a fruit
usually forms from the ovary and the ovules fertilized form a seed. The
seeds are dispersed by wind or animals.
Seed germination: Seeds start to grow when the temperature, air and
water conditions are right. During germination, the new plant grows by
using the stored seed reserves until it develops green leaves to perform
photosynthesis.
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Genital tube: They are ducts form the gonads to the exterior that allow
for the exit of gametes.
PHASES:
Gametogenesis: The reproductive cells or gametes are made in the
sexual organs.
Copulation: is the process in which sperm from a male are inserted into
the females body.
Fertilization: Is the fusion of the male and female gametes (spermatozoa
an ove) to form a fertilized zygote.
Embryonic development: The zygote divides to form the embryo. Is the
period when the embryo develops. Its development requires a constant
temperature. The parents (usually the female) incubate the eggs.
Birth or hatching: birth is the process of expelling the new being from
the mothers body and hatching is the breaking of the egg and the
emergence of the new being
DIVERSITY IN SEXUAL
DIVERSITY
Depending on the types of gonads present in each individual, animals can
be:
Unisexual: they only have female or male gonads
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Hermaphrodites: they have both female and male gonads, they can act
either as male or female, but they still need another individual to
reproduce.
FERTILIZATION
When the ovule and the spermatozoid join they form the first cell of the
living being or zygote.
There are two types of fertilization:
External fertilization: Union of gametes that occurs outside the female
body. Example: fish
Internal fertilization: Union of gametes occurs inside the body of the
female. It involves copulation.
EMBRIONIC DEVELOPMENT
The zygote grows and becomes an embryo, a developing organism.
Depending on where the embryonic development takes place animals can
be classified into:
Viviparous: The embryo develops inside the female body. An special
organ called placenta feeds the embryo through the umbilical cord.
Characteristic of mammals.
Oviparous: The embryo develops inside an egg outside the body of the
mother. Characteristic of birds, fish and reptiles.
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