Table of Contents

Preface; 1. The problem; 2. Some consequences of sex and recombination - I. The rate of evolution; 3. Some consequences of sex and recombination - II. Muller's ratchet; 4. Could sex be maintained by group selection? The comparative data; 5. Recombination - the problem; 6. Short-term advantages for sex and recombination - I. An unpredictable environment; 7. Short-term advantages for sex and recombination - II. Selection in a finite population; 8. Hermaphroditism, selfing and outcrossing; 9. Anisogamy and the sex ratio; 10. Sexual selection; 11. Mutation.

Promotional Information

In this account, Professor Maynard Smith considers the question of why organisms reproduce sexually and considers the selective forces responsible.