Male-male behavioral interactions drive social-dominance-mediated differences in ejaculate traits.

ABSTRACT: Higher social status is expected to result in fitness benefits as it secures access to potential mates. In promiscuous species, male reproductive success is also determined by an individual's ability to compete for fertilization after mating by producing high-quality ejaculates. However, the complex relationship between a male's investment in social status and ejaculates remains unclear. Here, we examine how male social status influences ejaculate quality under a range of social contexts in the pygmy halfbeak Dermogenys collettei, a small, group-living, internally fertilizing freshwater fish. We show that male social status influences ejaculate traits, both in the presence and absence of females. Dominant males produced faster swimming and more viable sperm, two key determinants of

SUBMITTER: Reuland C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7937186 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan-Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature