The baculum affects paternity success of first but not second males in house mouse sperm competition.

ABSTRACT: The vast variation observed in genital morphology is a longstanding puzzle in evolutionary biology. Studies showing that the morphology of the mammalian baculum (penis bone) can covary with a male's paternity success indicate a potential impact of baculum morphology on male fitness, likely through influencing sperm competition outcomes. We therefore measured the size (measurements of length and width) and shape (geometric morphometric measurements) of the bacula of male house mice used in previously published sperm competition experiments, in which two males mated successively with the same female in staged matings. This enabled us to correlate baculum morphology with sperm competition success, incorporating potential explanatory variables related to copulatory plugs, male mating behavior

SUBMITTER: Winkler L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8359600 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature