From: Dave Long (dl@silcom.com)
Date: Wed Aug 23 2000 - 11:24:14 PDT
> ... variation goes way up under stress, but dies
> down when the stress does.
Found more evidence of this variation variability
in Jolly's book, _Lucy's Legacy_:
| Many species that have both sexual and asexual reproduction
| switch to sex when times get hard and the food supply is
| scarce. Aphids develop the next generation asexually inside
| themselves, visible within the mother's translucent abdomen,
| while granddaughters simultaneously develop inside the unborn
| daughters. (Eating for two in this case is eating for three
| generations!) When days shorten and grow cool in the autumn,
| the aphids slow down, responding to changes in the food supply.
| They give birth to males and females, which mate to produce
| young that will live through winter. For these creatures,
| sex seems to protect the next generation. The offspring are
| more robust and more variable. At least a few of them will
| be well adapted to survive.
-Dave
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