Discuss methods and features of animal reproduction

Most animals are diploid organisms, meaning that their body (somatic) cells are diploid and haploid reproductive (gamete) cells are produced through meiosis. Some exceptions exist: for example, in bees, wasps, and ants, the male is haploid because it develops from unfertilized eggs. Most animals undergo sexual reproduction. However, a few groups, such as cnidarians, flatworms, and roundworms, may also undergo asexual reproduction, in which offspring originate from part of the parental body.

What You’ll Learn to Do

• Explain the processes of animal reproduction and embryonic development
• Compare and contrast the embryonic development of protostomes and deuterostomes
• Describe the roles that Hox genes play in development

Learning Activities

The learning activities for this section include the following:

• Animal Reproduction and Development
• Embryological Development
• Hox Genes
• Self Check: Animal Reproduction