Final answer:
Starfish can thrive in advantageous ocean areas by benefiting from diverse genetic combinations through sexual reproduction, which promotes adaptability. While asexual reproduction allows rapid growth, sexual reproduction is key for adaptability in changing environments.
Step-by-step explanation:
In an area of the ocean that is advantageous for starfish to reproduce because they will be able to benefit from diverse genetic combinations.
Starfish reproduce through both sexual and asexual methods, such as fragmentation. However, sexual reproduction introduces new genetic combinations, contributing to the genetic diversity of a population. This diversity can be advantageous because it allows for greater adaptability to changing environments.
On the other hand, asexual reproduction like budding or fragmentation allows for rapid population growth, which is beneficial in stable environments where adaptation is not as critical. Nevertheless, sexual reproduction's advantage lies in the generation of diverse offspring, enhancing the survival chances of populations in dynamic ecosystems.