Sexual and asexual reproduction: a population model where identical clones and varied offspring compete while the environment shifts

Sex is slower and riskier — yet wins when the world keeps changing

Copying yourself is fast, cheap and needs no partner, so in a steady world clones out-breed everyone. Mixing genes with a partner costs time, energy and half your genes per child, but no two offspring are the same. Raise the rate of environmental change and watch which strategy is favoured.

Clones vs varied offspring
7/min · both hold on
Watch each birth: a clone splits off one parent, a varied offspring needs two gametes to meet. Set change to none and watch the varied dots, then push it to rapid and watch the clones.
Slow change · both hold on
Pathogen sweeps hit the commonest genotype; climate flips hit a random one. A refuge of 6 survives every sweep, so no single shift wipes a strategy out, though a slower breeder can still be out-competed. Illustrative model, not real counts.
Asexual mechanism drawn
Rate of environmental change7/min
None 15/min 30/min
Identical clones alive
24
Varied offspring alive
24
Which strategy to read about
Know This
Sexual reproduction costs time and energy but generates genetic variation through gamete fusion, making populations resilient against rapidly evolving parasites.