Practice question

Both sexual and asexual strategies occur widely demonstrating evolutionary flexibility: Cnidaria reproduce asexually by budding, fission, pedal laceration and stolon extension while medusae and polyps release gametes sexually, showing generational alternation metagenesis. Ctenophora hermaphroditic individuals broadcast gametes but some benthic platyctenids undergo fragmentation and dissogony where larva matures precociously reproducing before adult form. Rotifera exhibit heterogonic cycle with amictic parthenogenesis producing diploid females rapidly colonizing, mictic sexual phase yielding haploid males and diapausing resting eggs surviving desiccation. Combined capacity for rapid clonal expansion and recombination provides colonization advantage, thus all listed phyla display both modes unlike obligately sexual taxa.