📚 StudyHub

🔬 Biology  ·  The Living World  ·  NEET

How does the concept of a 'species' for sexually reproducing organisms generally differ from its application to organisms that reproduce mainly asexually?

  • A Asexual organisms rarely receive formal species names from taxonomists in the majority of documented cases
  • B Sexual organisms are grouped by habitat type, asexual ones by body size as widely reported
  • C The biological species concept applies the same way across all life forms according to most studies
  • D Sexual species rely on interbreeding, asexual ones on morphological and genetic similarity

Correct answer: D. Sexual species rely on interbreeding, asexual ones on morphological and genetic similarity

Explanation: The biological species concept (interbreeding populations producing fertile offspring) works well for sexual organisms but cannot apply to strictly asexual ones, which taxonomists instead group using morphological and genetic similarity.

Concept context

Biodiversity, taxonomy, binomial nomenclature, the taxonomic hierarchy, and taxonomic aids like herbaria and botanical gardens. The foundational first chapter of NCERT Biology.

Read the full The Living World notes →