eli5: What advantage does sexual dimorphism provide in nature?
In: Biology
It tends to lead to better genetic diversity. Species that can self-fertilize are basically just cloning themselves, so if a disease came along that one was susceptible to, all members would be equally susceptible.
Having a male and female means that the genetic “pot” is always getting stirred as different groups bring in different genes, which protects the species as a whole from getting wiped out in one fell swoop.
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