Functional variation of sperm morphology in sticklebacks |
| |
Authors: | Theo C. M. Bakker Michael Hollmann Marion Mehlis Marc Zbinden |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 1, 53121, Bonn, Germany 2. Division Biology and Medicine, Swiss National Science Foundation, Wildhainweg 3, P.O. Box 8232, 3001, Bern, Switzerland
|
| |
Abstract: | Some theoretical models of sperm competition make the assumption that in fish species with external fertilisation, sperm length relates positively to swimming speed at the expense of sperm longevity. Few studies have tested this assumption. We used the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., to study functional sperm morphology. In this study, the relationship between males’ mean sperm length and fertilisation rate was investigated in vitro in a non-competitive situation. Fertilisation at different time points after sperm release was taken into account, and sperm morphology was quantified from scanning electron microscopy images. The time series of artificial fertilisations demonstrated that males which produced sperm with a longer tail fertilised faster, but their sperm had a shorter lifespan (or activity period). It was further suggested that males that produced sperm with a larger midpiece had greater fertilisation chances later on in the fertilisation process. Thus, in sticklebacks, there exists functional variation in sperm morphology, and sperm tail length is traded off against sperm longevity (or activity). |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|