Female copperhead snakes are capable of both asexual and sexual reproduction. In essence, sexual reproduction has got to do with the development of a new organism via “the fusion of two sex cells, the male and female gametes” (Smith and Smith, 2015, p. 198). Asexual reproduction, on the other hand, “is the ability of an organism to produce an offspring without the union of sex cells (i.e. gamates)” (Smith and Smith, 2015, p. 199). It is important to note that in terms of genetic diversity, sexual reproduction is of greater relevance than asexual reproduction. This is more so the case given that in comparison to the parent organisms, the egg and sperm produced have different gene combinations. Meiosis is, according to Smith and Smith (2015), involved sexual reproduction. In basic terms, meiosis involves not only the cell DNA doubling, but also the rearrangement of genes, and the division of the same among several cells (four to be specific). It is important to note that in comparison to the parent cell, each gamete contains 50% of the DNA. Towards this end, two gametes must fuse so as to form a new organism. This leads to the production of more genetic diversity as a consequence of the further gene mixing. In comparison, in asexual reproduction, there is no shuffling of genes as one organism divides into two. In such a case, the parent and the offspring tend to have identical gene versions. It would, therefore, be prudent to note that on the basis of the discussion above, sexual reproduction appears to be the better option for the species, in general. This is more so the case given that unlike asexual reproduction, meiosis is involved in sexual reproduction. In such a case, each of the emanating cells contains only a fraction of the DNA amount as the parent cell – with genetic diversity effectively resulting from the fusion of two gametes so as to form a new organism. The relevance of genetic diversity cannot be overstated when it comes to the further enhancement of the ability of organisms to adapt to changing environments.

References

Smith, T.M. & Smith, R.L. (2015). Elements of Ecology. New York, NY: Pearson. .