Sperm competition, sperm numbers and sperm quality in muroid rodents.

ABSTRACT: Sperm competition favors increases in relative testes mass and production efficiency, and changes in sperm phenotype that result in faster swimming speeds. However, little is known about its effects on traits that contribute to determine the quality of a whole ejaculate (i.e., proportion of motile, viable, morphologically normal and acrosome intact sperm) and that are key determinants of fertilization success. Two competing hypotheses lead to alternative predictions: (a) sperm quantity and quality traits co-evolve under sperm competition because they play complementary roles in determining ejaculate's competitive ability, or (b) energetic constraints force trade-offs between traits depending on their relevance in providing a competitive advantage. We examined relationships between sperm co

SUBMITTER: Gomez Montoto L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3064651 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature