Male display rate reveals ejaculate characteristics in the Trinidadian guppy Poecilia reticulata
Male display rate reveals ejaculate characteristics in the Trinidadian guppy Poecilia reticulata
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DOI：
10.1098/rspb.1997.0099
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发表时间：
1997-05-22
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Magurran, AE
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Matthews, IM;Evans, JP;Magurran, AE
以前的工作（雷诺兹和格罗斯1992年）表明，配偶选择使雌性孔雀鱼，孔雀鱼，获得遗传利益（“好基因”）为他们的后代。目前尚不清楚雄性孔雀鱼是否也向雌性孔雀鱼发出了它们功能性生育能力的信号，即它们作为父亲的生存能力。我们的研究验证了一个假设，即男性的行为揭示了他射精的特征。我们发现了来自两个野生特立尼达种群的雄性孔雀鱼的显示率和精子数量之间的强相关性。这一结果表明，潜在配偶的功能生育能力的信息是提供给女性。然而，我们的调查还发现，偷偷摸摸的交配频率和精子数量之间存在显着关系。野生种群中的雌性孔雀鱼，特别是那些经历高捕食制度的孔雀鱼，经常受到偷偷摸摸的交配尝试。由于负责这些偷偷摸摸交配的雄性拥有最高的精子储备，它们可能有能力破坏雌性的选择。这些研究结果对精子竞争的影响进行了讨论。
Previous work (Reynolds & Gross 1992) has demonstrated that mate choice enables female guppies, Poecilia reticulata, to obtain heritable benefits ('good genes') for their offspring. It is not yet known whether males also signal their functional fertility, that is, their viability as fathers, to female guppies. Our study tested the hypothesis that a male's behaviour reveals characteristics of his ejaculate. We uncovered a strong correlation between display rate and sperm number in male guppies derived from two wild Trinidadian populations. This result indicates that information on the functional fertility of potential mates is available to females. However, our investigation also found a significant relationship between the frequency of sneaky mating and sperm number. Female guppies in wild populations, particularly those experiencing a high predation regime, are constantly subjected to sneaky mating attempts. As the males responsible for these sneaky matings have highest reserves of sperm they may have the capacity to undermine female choice. The implications of these findings for sperm competition are discussed.