Testicular asymmetry and secondary sexual characters in Red Junglefowl
Testicular asymmetry and secondary sexual characters in Red Junglefowl
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DOI：
10.2307/4089163
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发表时间：
1997-04-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
MerolaZwartjes, M
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kimball, RT;Ligon, JD;MerolaZwartjes, M
大多数鸟类的左侧睾丸往往比右侧睾丸大。 Moller (1994) 假设，优质男性的睾丸方向不对称程度应该更大，因此应该与第二性征呈正相关。我们检查了红原鸡（Gallus gallus）睾丸的方向性和绝对不对称性，以及左侧睾丸和较大睾丸的大小，以确定这些测量值是否与雄性品质的几种潜在表型指标相关。这些指标包括梳子大小；身体尺寸和状况；骨骼、羽毛和头部装饰特征的波动性不对称性（因为波动性不对称性可能反映个体克服发育压力的能力）。我们没有发现任何证据支持 Moller (1994) 的假设，即睾丸方向不对称性与我们对男性质量的测量之间存在关系。此外，几乎没有证据表明左侧睾丸的绝对睾丸不对称大小或最大睾丸的大小与任何男性品质测量之间存在关系。最后，与其他一些研究不同，我们没有发现左侧睾丸比右侧睾丸大的趋势。 16 名性成熟雄性中只有 4 名在 10 个月大时左侧睾丸较大，而 19 名雄性中的 10 名在 12 个月大时左侧睾丸较大。
The left testis tends to be larger than the right in most avian species. Moller (1994) hypothesized that the degree of directional asymmetry in the testes should be greater in high-quality males and hence should be positively correlated with secondary sexual traits. We examined both directional and absolute testicular asymmetry in Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus), as well as the size of the left and of the larger testis, to determine whether these measures correlated with any of several potential phenotypic indicators of male quality. Such indicators included comb size; body size and condition; and fluctuating asymmetry in skeletal, plumage, and ornamental head traits (because fluctuating asymmetry may reflect an individual's ability to overcome developmental stresses). We found no evidence to support Moller's (1994) hypothesis of a relationship between directional testicular asymmetry and our measures of male quality. Moreover, there was little evidence to suggest a relationship between absolute testicular asymmetry size of the left testis, or size of the largest testis and any measure of male quality. Finally, unlike some other studies, we did not find a tendency for the left testis to be larger than the right. Only 4 of 16 sexually mature males had a larger left testis at 10 months of age, whereas 10 of 19 males had a larger left testis at 12 months of age.