Sperm mixing in the Alpine newt (<i>Triturus alpestris</i>)

Rafínski, Jan; Osikowski, Artur

doi:10.1139/z02-099

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Sperm are stored in sets of tubules and released in a relatively uncontrolled manner (Verrell & Sever 1988;Sever et al 1999). More importantly, a recent study by Rafinski & Osikowski (2002) showed that sperm from controlled two-male matings are mixed and that paternity Proc. R. Soc.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Relatedness, body size and paternity in the alpine newt,Triturus alpestris

Garner

Schmidt²

2003

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Sexual selection has traditionally been investigated assuming that male quality is as skewed as patterns of male reproductive success can sometimes be. Recently, female choice has been investigated under the model of genetic compatibility, which assumes that each individual female has her own 'best' mate and there is no overall optimal choice for all females. We investigated female mate choice in the newt species Triturus alpestris, a member of a genus where female choice has been investigated only within the context of the optimal male (female choice for condition-dependent traits). We provided females with two males that differed in one condition-dependent trait (body size) and overall genetic composition. Both male body size and female body size did not influence paternity, but the degree of genetic relatedness between females and potential mates did. Two components of fitness (fecundity and hatching success) did not differ between singly and multiply sired clutches, indicating that females do not employ polyandry as a means of increasing offspring fitness through genetic bet-hedging. Instead, we hypothesize that females may mate initially for fertility assurance, but prefer less-related males as the most genetically compatible mates.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, as polyandry has been detected in this species (Halliday 1998;Rafinski & Osikowski 2002) and polyandry per se can influence offspring fitness (Madsen et al 1992;Byrne & Roberts 1999, 2000, we also assessed whether polyandry affected two components of fitness: fecundity and hatching success.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relatedness, body size and paternity in the alpine newt,Triturus alpestris

Garner

Schmidt²

2003

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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“…A handful of studies have found multiple paternity in newts and salamanders (Gabor et al 2000;Jones et al 2002aJones et al , b, 2004Rafinski & Osikowski 2002;Garner & Schmidt 2003;Tennessen & Zamudio 2003;Myers & Zamudio 2004). However, amphibian mating systems remain a largely untapped resource in the study of sexual selection and sperm competition, especially considering the variation among species with respect to mating behaviour, sperm transfer and sperm storage (Halliday 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple paternity in a natural population of a salamander with long‐term sperm storage

2005

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Sperm competition appears to be an important aspect of any mating system in which individual female organisms mate with multiple males and store sperm. Post-copulatory sexual selection may be particularly important in species that store sperm throughout long breeding seasons, because the lengthy storage period may permit extensive interactions among rival sperm. Few studies have addressed the potential for sperm competition in species exhibiting prolonged sperm storage. We used microsatellite markers to examine offspring paternity in field-collected clutches of the Ocoee salamander (Desmognathus ocoee), a species in which female organisms store sperm for up to 9 months prior to fertilization. We found that 96% of clutches were sired by multiple males, but that the majority of females used sperm from only two or three males to fertilize their eggs. The high rate of multiple mating by females suggests that sperm competition is an important aspect of this mating system. Comparison of our data with those of other parentage studies in salamanders and newts reveals that multiple mating may be common in urodele amphibians. Nevertheless, the number of males siring offspring per clutch in D. ocoee did not differ appreciably from that in other species of urodeles with shorter storage periods.

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“…Multiple paternity, however, is a prerequisite for sperm competition and cryptic female choice. The ability to store sperm is widespread among Urodela (Halliday, 1998;Sever, 2002), and there is evidence that multiple paternity might be common in the reproductive biology of many newts and salamanders (Halliday, 1998;Gabor, Krenz & Jaeger, 2000;Jones et al, 2002;Rafinski & Osikowski, 2002). Gabor & Halliday (1997) found a pattern of last male advantage in Triturus vulgaris and proposed a mechanism of female choice to explain the occurrence of multiple paternity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of multiple paternity within and between annual reproduction cycles of the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) under natural conditions

et al. 2005

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We have investigated patterns of paternity in a population of the fire salamander Salamandra salamandra in Germany under fully natural conditions. Pregnant females were caught after hibernation in their natural habitat and their offspring were genotyped with different sets of microsatellite loci to assess paternity. Each female was marked with a transponder and released at the same place where it had been caught. We were able to recapture several marked females in the following years and to analyse the offspring arrays of six females for different reproductive years between 2000 and 2001 for possible long-term sperm storage and repeated sperm usage. The reconstruction of paternal genotypes for 21 female offspring arrays with the GERUD 1.0 program showed that multiple paternity is frequent under natural conditions with more than half of the females showing two or three fathers for their offspring cohorts. Despite the fact that S. salamandra is capable of long-term sperm storage under captive conditions, under natural conditions we did not find evidence for long-term sperm storage and repeated sperm usage for the six analysed female offspring arrays from consecutive years. This might be an indication for possible cryptic female choice owing to differences of sperm quality between stored and freshly uptaken sperm or degradation of sperm after fertilization. Furthermore, we found that males in nature do not contribute equally to a female's clutch when it is sired from multiple fathers. Currently, it is not clear whether such a paternity pattern reflects a simple 'topping off' mechanism of sperm in the spermathecae of the female as described for the newt species Taricha granulosa or whether this is the result of intensive sperm competition

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Sperm mixing in the Alpine newt (Triturus alpestris)

Cited by 20 publications

References 24 publications

Relatedness, body size and paternity in the alpine newt,Triturus alpestris

Relatedness, body size and paternity in the alpine newt,Triturus alpestris

Multiple paternity in a natural population of a salamander with long‐term sperm storage

Patterns of multiple paternity within and between annual reproduction cycles of the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) under natural conditions

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