Examples:
- egg
- seed
- spore
- cyst
- bud
- clonal fragment
Primary energy source:
inherited reserves
Operational definition
Developmental state.
A reproductive or dispersal unit that begins its independent existence with matter and chemical free energy supplied by a parent or predecessor.
Examples include:
- eggs;
- seeds;
- spores;
- cysts;
- buds;
- clonal fragments.
Its early metabolism is at least partly supported by inherited reserves.