Modification of sperm quality after sexual abstinence in the Seba's short tailed bat (Carollia perspicillata)
Charlotte Wesseling, Nicolas Jean Fasel, Heinz Richner & Fabrice Helfenstein
| Résumé |
In polygynous mating systems, few males have stable access to sexual
mates. With an expected higher copulation rate, harem males may
deplete seminal fluids or increase epididymal sperm maturation,
generating poor sperm quality. In a first study, we reported a
higher sperm quality in sneaker males of Carollia perspicillata. To
test whether the lower sperm quality observed in harem males was
generated by an elevated copulation rate, we temporarily removed
males of both social statuses from the colony. We thus assessed
status-related changes of sperm quality resulting from sexual
abstinence. Moreover, released from territory and female guarding,
harem males were expected to show a reduction in somatic costs. On
the basis of sperm competition models, we predicted a higher
resource investment in the ejaculate with the reduction of
pre-copulatory efforts. In line with our predictions, sperm quality
of harem males improved significantly in contrast to sneaker males,
whose sperm quality did not change. Without an increase in
ejaculate lipid peroxidation, our results also provide evidence
that the duration of sexual abstinence was not sufficient to
generate sperm oxidative damage through senescence. Harem males did
not show a reduction in blood lipid peroxidation or in the ratio of
oxidized to reduced glutathione. In line with the maintenance of
these somatic costs, harem males did not invest more superoxide
dismutase to the ejaculate to maintain sperm quality. Our results
suggest that a difference in copulation rate rather than an
adaptation to sperm competition provides sneaker males with higher
sperm quality in C. perspicillata. |
| Mots-clés |
sperm quality, oxidative stress, sexual abstinence, alternative reproductive strategies, alternative reproductive tactics, sperm velocity, sperm motility |
| Citation | Wesseling, C., Fasel, N. J., Richner, H., & Helfenstein, F. (2016). Modification of sperm quality after sexual abstinence in the Seba's short tailed bat (Carollia perspicillata). Journal of Experimental Biology, 219, 1363-1368. |
| Type | Article de périodique (Anglais) |
| Date de publication | 4-5-2016 |
| Nom du périodique | Journal of Experimental Biology |
| Volume | 219 |
| Pages | 1363-1368 |
| Liée au projet | Oxidative stress in avian semen: causes and consequences ... |