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. 2019 Mar 29;15(3):20180889.
doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0889.

Sperm competition accentuates selection on ejaculate attributes

Pauline Vuarin  1   2 , Yves Hingrat  3 , Loïc Lesobre  3 , Michel Saint Jalme  4 , Frédéric Lacroix  3 , Gabriele Sorci  2
Affiliations

Sperm competition accentuates selection on ejaculate attributes

Pauline Vuarin et al. Biol Lett. .

Abstract

Ejaculate attributes are important factors driving the probability of fertilizing eggs. When females mate with several males, competition between sperm to fertilize eggs should accentuate selection on ejaculate attributes. We tested this hypothesis in the North African houbara bustard ( Chlamydotis undulata undulata) by comparing the strength of selection acting on two ejaculate attributes when sperm from single males or sperm from different males were used for insemination. In agreement with the prediction, we found that selection on ejaculate attributes was stronger when sperm of different males competed for egg fertilization. These findings provide the first direct comparison of the strength of selection acting on ejaculate attributes under competitive and non-competitive fertilizations, confirming that sperm competition is a major selective force driving the evolution of ejaculate characteristics.

Keywords: ejaculate; fertilization success; multiple mating; natural selection; sexual selection; sperm competition.

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Conflict of interest statement

We have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Selection gradients (±s.e.) for the proportion of motile sperm and the proportion of morphologically normal sperm under non-competitive and competitive fertilizations. (Online version in colour.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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