Variation

Asexual reproduction needs only one parent and no fusion of gametes. It involves mitosis and produces genetically identical offspring called clones. These differences create a trade-off: producing variation can help a population face change, while producing clones can increase its numbers quickly when conditions are favourable.

This does not mean that differences can never appear: a new mutation may occasionally introduce genetic variation. However, the usual outcome of asexual reproduction is a population with little or no genetic variation.

Two people can belong to the same species yet differ in height, weight or eye colour. These differences are called variation. An organism’s phenotype is its set of characteristics, including features that can be seen or measured.

A population is a group of organisms of the same species living in an area. Its members are not identical: they show variation. Some differences are inherited because individuals carry different genetic variants.