Changes in sperm traits over the breeding season in passerine bird - barn swallow (Hirundo rustica)

0389965 - ÚBO 2013 CZ eng A - Abstrakt
Soudková, M. - Albrechtová, Jana - Albrecht, Tomáš
Changes in sperm traits over the breeding season in passerine bird - barn swallow (Hirundo rustica).
Zoologické dny Brno 2013: sborník abstraktů z konference 7.-8. února 2013. Brno: Ústav biologie obratlovců AV ČR, 2013 - (Bryja, J.; Řehák, Z.; Zukal, J.). s. 219. ISBN 978-80-87189-14-6.
[Zoologické dny. 07.02.2013-08.02.2013, Brno]
Institucionální podpora: RVO:68081766
Klíčová slova: barn swallow
Kód oboru RIV: EG - Zoologie

Post-copulatory sexual selection is thought to be one of the evolutionary forces responsible for the rapid and divergent evolution of sperm design. Sperm cells are highly diversified across taxa, however, little is known about intraspecific variation in sperm morphology in birds. In temperate zone, many reproductive traits show remarkable seasonal variation, nevertheless, the potential for such dynamics in sperm traits has been overlooked. Several studies have revealed high within-male repeatability in sperm morphology, but samples have typically been collected within a short period, and the consistency of sperm morphology over the whole season remains unexplored. Here, we tested whether ejaculate traits exhibit seasonal phenotypic plasticity in a long-lived seasonal breeder, the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica). Three ejaculate parameters were studied repeatedly during a three-month-long breeding season: sperm number, sperm morphology (size of sperm components) and sperm motility.
Trvalý link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0218929