Attractive males have faster sperm in three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus  

作　　者：Marion MEHLIS Lukas K. HILKE Theo C. M. BAKKER 

机构地区：[1]Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 1, D-53121 Bonn, Germany [2]Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, CH-3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland

出　　处：《Current Zoology》2013年第6期761-768,共8页动物学报（英文版）

摘　　要：Recent studies have revealed that sexually selected traits may signal sperm quality and hence male fertilisation ability. There is also evidence that the expression of male sexual ornamentation and associated sperm characteristics depend on an indi- vidual＇s ability to cope with oxidative stress. Carotenoids are known for their antioxidant properties and carotenoid-based orna- ments might represent honest signals as these pigments can be traded offbetween the investment in sexual ornamentation, sperm function as well as immune response. In this study, we examined the relationship between sexual ornamentation （breeding colo- ration） and sperm characteristics （e.g., velocity and morphology） in the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aeuleatus, an ex- ternally fertilising fish species, in which sperm competition commonly occurs. During the breeding season males are sperm limi- ted and develop a conspicuous carotenoid-based coloration, which is under strong pre-copulatory sexual selection due to female mate choice and male-male competition. The results of the present study show that the expression of stickleback male breeding coloration is significantly positively associated with the linearity of sperm movement, whereas sperm morphology （head length to tail length ratio） is significantly negatively related to the trajectory of sperm movement. Moreover, there is some support for the phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis as the intensity of male red breeding coloration is significantly positively correlated with sperm velocity, which is supposed to be an important determinant of fertilisation success in external fertilisers, indicating the honesty of the sexually selected nuptial red coloration.

关 键 词：Mate choice Sperm competition Carotenoids Oxidative stress Reproductive success CASA ImageJ 

分 类 号：Q958.12[生物学—动物学] Q959.4