Sneaker "jack" males outcompete dominant "hooknose" males under sperm competition in Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).

ABSTRACT: In a variety of taxa, males deploy alternative reproductive tactics to secure fertilizations. In many species, small "sneaker" males attempt to steal fertilizations while avoiding encounters with larger, more aggressive, dominant males. Sneaker males usually face a number of disadvantages, including reduced access to females and the higher likelihood that upon ejaculation, their sperm face competition from other males. Nevertheless, sneaker males represent an evolutionarily stable strategy under a wide range of conditions. Game theory suggests that sneaker males compensate for these disadvantages by investing disproportionately in spermatogenesis, by producing more sperm per unit body mass (the "fair raffle") and/or by producing higher quality sperm (the "loaded raffle"). Here, we test the

SUBMITTER: Young B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3892362 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature