Sperm size of African cichlids in relation to sperm competition
Sperm size of African cichlids in relation to sperm competition
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DOI：
10.1093/beheco/12.6.726
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发表时间：
2001-11-01
影响因子：
2.4
通讯作者：
Montgomerie, R
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Balshine, S;Leach, BJ;Montgomerie, R
我们比较了坦噶尼喀湖中密切相关的慈鲷类群，以研究精子大小与精子竞争的假定强度之间的关系。与之前关于多种类群的一夫多妻制鱼类精子相对较短的报道相反，我们发现一夫多妻制丽鱼科鱼的精子比它们最亲近的一夫一妻制亲属的精子明显更长。此外，精子长度与相对睾丸大小显着相关（控制身体大小和系统发育）。受精部位也可能与精子长度相关，因为在雌性口腔中受精的物种的精子明显短于在基质上使卵子受精的物种。假设相对较大的睾丸和一夫多妻制交配表明精子竞争更加激烈，这些结果表明，精子长度与慈鲷这一分支中精子竞争的强度有关，正如之前在昆虫、鸟类和哺乳动物中发现的那样。
We compared pairs of closely related taxa of cichlid fishes from Lake Tanganyika to examine the relationship between sperm size and the presumed intensity of sperm competition. In contrast to previous reports of relatively short sperm in polygamous fishes across a variety of taxa, we found that polygamous cichlids had significantly longer sperm than their closest monogamous relatives. In addition, sperm length was significantly related to relative testis size (controlling for body size and phylogeny). The site of fertilization may also be correlated with sperm length, as species that fertilize in the female's buccal cavity had significantly shorter sperm than those that fertilized eggs on the substrate. Assuming that relatively large testes and polygamous mating are indicative of more intense sperm competition, these results indicate that sperm length is related to the intensity of sperm competition in this clade of cichlids, as has been found previously in insects, birds, and mammals.