Selection on sperm morphology under relaxed sperm competition in a wild passerine bird
Theories regarding the role of sexual selection on the evolution of sperm traits are based on an association between pre-copulatory (e.g. female preference) and post-copulatory (e.g. ejaculate quality) male reproductive traits. In tests of these hypotheses, sperm morphology has rarely been used, des...
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Published in | Biology letters (2005) Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 58 - 61 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
The Royal Society
23.02.2009
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Theories regarding the role of sexual selection on the evolution of sperm traits are based on an association between pre-copulatory (e.g. female preference) and post-copulatory (e.g. ejaculate quality) male reproductive traits. In tests of these hypotheses, sperm morphology has rarely been used, despite its high heritability and intra-individual consistency. We found evidence of selection for longer sperm through positive phenotypic associations between sperm size and the two major female preference traits in the pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca. Our results support the sexually selected sperm hypothesis in a species under low sperm competition and demonstrate that natural and pre-copulatory sexual selection forces should not be overlooked in studies of intraspecific sperm morphology evolution. |
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Bibliography: | ark:/67375/V84-28JPJRH9-C href:58.pdf ArticleID:rsbl20080544 istex:B3B6B6C7CE74E38DC6953E6C0472556B4F55FD5E ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1744-9561 1744-957X |
DOI: | 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0544 |