Sexual reproduction creates diversity in a species. In asexual reproduction, the parent passes down the same traits to the offspring, creating an clone by doing so. There are advantages to asexual reproduction, but a downside of it is that if a certain disease spreads around that only affects a plant or animal with a certain trait, the whole species is most-likely to die off. Sexual reproduction will mix traits from both parents, and because there is a chance that the offspring will not inherit the trait that makes them weak against the disease, the species will live and recover faster.