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• When a sperm fertilizes an egg within the female, it is known as internal fertilization.

• External fertilization is a mode of reproduction in which a male organism's sperm fertilizes a female organism's egg outside of the female's body.

Advantages of External Fertilization

• It results in increased genetic variations.
• It produces a larger number of offsprings.
• The gametes released can drift and therefore it is easy to find mates.

Disadvantages of External Fertilization

• A large quantity of gametes is wasted and left unfertilized.
• Chances of fertilization are diminished by environmental hazards and Predators
• Eggs and sperms, essentially, may not come in contact

The advantages of internal fertilization are:

• Chances of fusion of gametes are more.
• The probability of successful fertilization is increased.
• The mates are selective.
• The chances of dehydration of gametes decreases.

Disadvantages of internal fertilization

• There are lesser number of offspring produced at a given time because it is sometimes difficult for the male and female to come into intimate contact.
• Additionally, the risk of sexually transmitted diseases also increases.