Page 259 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

ANIMAL LIFE 257

Reproduction SINGLE PARENT
This sea anemone is budding off
Animals reproduce in two ways. In asexual reproduction, which occurs young that will eventually take
in many marine animals from flatworms to sea anemones, a single parent up life on their own. Asexual
reproduction is quick and simple,
divides in two, or grows (buds off) parts that become independent. In but it does not produce genetic
sexual reproduction, the eggs of one parent are fertilized by the sperm variation, making it more difficult
of another. Sessile animals, such as corals and clams, usually breed for a species to adapt to change.
sexually by shedding their eggs and sperm into the water, leaving them
to meet by chance. In some fish, all mammals, and birds, fertilization
is internal, which means that the two SEA SYMPHONY
A wrasse feeds among
parents have to mate. Marine animals coral in the Red Sea.
vary greatly in reproductive potential. Coral reefs contain
Most whales have a single calf each time the greatest diversity
they breed, but an ocean sunfish can of animal life in the
produce over 300 million eggs a year. oceans, and are one
of the few habitats
that are actually
COURTSHIP created by animals.
Two waved albatrosses display to each other in
the Galápagos Islands. Complex courtship rituals
like this ensure that each parent finds a partner
of the right species and the right sex, and they
cement the bond once breeding begins. OCEAN LIFE