sperm swimming velocity predicts competitive fertilization success in the green swordtail xiphophorus helleri精子游泳速度预测竞争受精成功的青剑xiphophorus helleri.pdfVIP

Sperm Swimming Velocity Predicts Competitive Fertilization Success in the Green Swordtail Xiphophorus helleri 1 2 2 2 Clelia Gasparini , Leigh W. Simmons , Maxine Beveridge , Jonathan P. Evans * ` 1 Dipartimento di Biologia, Universita di Padova, Padova, Italy, 2 Centre for Evolutionary Biology, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia Abstract Sperm competition is expected to favour the evolution of traits that influence the performance of sperm when they compete to fertilize a female’s eggs. While there is considerable evidence that selection favours increases in sperm numbers, much less is known about how sperm quality contributes towards competitive fertilization success. Here, we determine whether variation in sperm quality influences competitive fertilization success in the green swordtail Xiphophorus helleri, a highly promiscuous livebearing fish. We use artificial insemination as a method of controlled sperm delivery and show that sperm swimming velocity is the primary determinant of fertilization success when ejaculates from two males compete to fertilize a female’s eggs. By contrast, we found no evidence that sperm length had any effect on siring success. We also found no evidence that pre- and postcopulatory sexual traits were phenotypically integrated in this species, suggesting that the previous observation that reproductive skew favours males with high mating rates is unlikely to be due to any direct association between sperm quality and male sexual ornamentation. Citation: Gasparini C, Simmons LW, Beveridge M, Evans JP (2010) Sperm Swimming Velocity Predicts Competitive Fertilization Success in the Green Swordtail Xiphophorus helleri. PLoS ONE 5(8): e12146. doi