Abstract
In polyandrous species, sperm morphometry and sperm velocity are under strong sexual selection. Although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the role of sperm competition in sperm trait variation, this aspect is still poorly understood. It has been suggested that an increase in sperm competition pressure could reduce sperm size variation or produce a diversity of sperm to maximize male fertilization success. We aim at elucidating the variability of sperm morphometric traits and velocity in two Tupinambis lizards in the context of sperm competition risk. Sperm traits showed substantial variation at all levels examined: between species, among males within species, and within the ejaculate of individual males. Sperm velocity was found to be positively correlated with flagellum: midpiece ratio, with relatively longer flagella associated with faster sperm. Our results document high variability in sperm form and function in lizards. Our results provideevidence of the link between sperm length and sperm function in lizards and suggest that the variability of sperm traits among and within males of a single species might be a strategy of sperm investment in lizards.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4080-4092 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Ecology and Evolution |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 21 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2014 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Copyright 2014 The Authors. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.Keywords
- Postcopulatory sexual selection
- Sperm evolution
- Sperm morphometry
- Sperm velocity
- Squamata