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Eddy SL, Vaccaro EA, Baggett CL, Kiemnec-Tyburczy KM, Houck LD. Sperm Mass Longevity and Sperm Storage in the Female Reproductive Tract ofPlethodon shermani(Amphibia: Plethodontidae). HERPETOLOGICA 2015. [DOI: 10.1655/herpetologica-d-14-00059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Grayson KL, De Lisle SP, Jackson JE, Black SJ, Crespi EJ. Behavioral and physiological female responses to male sex ratio bias in a pond-breeding amphibian. Front Zool 2012; 9:24. [PMID: 22988835 PMCID: PMC3478290 DOI: 10.1186/1742-9994-9-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2012] [Accepted: 06/03/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction The phenomenon of sexual conflict has been well documented, and in populations with biased operational sex ratios the consequences for the rarer sex can be severe. Females are typically a limited resource and males often evolve aggressive mating behaviors, which can improve individual fitness for the male while negatively impacting female condition and fitness. In response, females can adjust their behavior to minimize exposure to aggressive mating tactics or minimize the costs of mating harassment. While male-male competition is common in amphibian mating systems, little is known about the consequences or responses of females. The red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) is a common pond-breeding amphibian with a complex, well-studied mating system where males aggressively court females. Breeding populations across much of its range have male-biased sex ratios and we predicted that female newts would have behavioral mechanisms to mitigate mating pressure from males. We conducted four experiments examining the costs and behavioral responses of female N. viridescens exposed to a male-biased environment. Results In field enclosures, we found that female newts exposed to a male-biased environment during the five-month breeding season ended with lower body condition compared to those in a female-biased environment. Shorter-term exposure to a male-biased environment for five weeks caused a decrease in circulating total leukocyte and lymphocyte abundance in blood, which suggests females experienced physiological stress. In behavioral experiments, we found that females were more agitated in the presence of male chemical cues and females in a male-biased environment spent more time in refuge than those in a female-biased environment. Conclusions Our results indicate that male-biased conditions can incur costs to females of decreased condition and potentially increased risk of infection. However, we found that females can also alter their behavior and microhabitat use under a male-biased sex ratio. Consistent with surveys showing reduced detection probabilities for females, our research suggests that females avoid male encounters using edge and substrate habitat. Our work illustrates the integrated suite of impacts that sexual conflict can have on the structure and ecology of a population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristine L Grayson
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA.
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Akiyama S, Iwao Y, Miura I. Evidence for True Fall-Mating in Japanese NewtCynops pyrrhogaster. Zoolog Sci 2011; 28:758-63. [DOI: 10.2108/zsj.28.758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Bloch AM, Grayson KL. Reproductive costs of migration for males in a partially migrating, pond-breeding amphibian. CAN J ZOOL 2010. [DOI: 10.1139/z10-079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Migratory animals face costs and benefits related to traveling to another habitat and the timing of the journey. These trade-offs can be sex-specific, with male reproductive success expected to be influenced by arrival time at the breeding habitat. In this study, we examined mating success in a population of partially migrating Red-Spotted Newts ( Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens (Rafinesque, 1820)). We tested the hypothesis that migrant males are at a disadvantage for spring mating opportunities compared with resident males owing to (i) later arrival time at the breeding pond and (ii) delay in developing the aquatic tail fin, which reduces their competitiveness. We measured the tail heights of successfully courting males compared with the general male population, as well as the time required for migrating males to develop tail fins. Temporally, migrant males arrived at the breeding pond before the majority of mating activity. However, we found that the time required for migrating males to acquire tail-fin heights necessary to be competitive for mating opportunities places them at a significant reproductive disadvantage compared with resident males. For partial migration to be maintained in the population, a reproductive cost for migrants could either trade off with another life-history trait or migration could be condition-dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. M. Bloch
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, 238 Gilmer Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - K. L. Grayson
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, 238 Gilmer Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
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Holt W, Lloyd R. Sperm storage in the vertebrate female reproductive tract: How does it work so well? Theriogenology 2010; 73:713-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2009.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2009] [Accepted: 05/22/2009] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Reproductive Success and Sexual Selection in Wild Eastern Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma t. tigrinum). Evol Biol 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-009-9058-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Takahashi MK, Parris MJ. When do the Costs of Spermatogenesis Constrain Sperm Expenditure? Remarks on the Pattern of the Spermatogenic Cycle. Ethology 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01588.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Sever DM, Siegel DS. Sperm aggregations in the spermatheca of the red back salamander (Plethodon cinereus). ACTA ZOOL-STOCKHOLM 2006. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1463-6395.2006.00249.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Sever DM, Tait CK, Diller LV, Burkholder L. Ultrastructure of the annual cycle of female sperm storage in spermathecae of the torrent salamander, Rhyacotriton variegatus (Amphibia: Rhyacotritonidae). J Morphol 2005; 261:1-17. [PMID: 15164363 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
This study is the first report on the ultrastructure of the sperm storage glands (spermathecae) in the salamander Rhyacotriton variegatus. The population studied is associated with cold-water, rocky streams of the redwood (Sequoia) zone in northern California. Males possess sperm in their vasa deferentia and undergo spermiation throughout the year, but mating is seasonal. Most females with large, vitellogenic follicles (2.0-3.9 mm mean dia.) collected from February-June contain sperm in their spermathecae, although some females with large follicles lack sperm. Other mature-size females collected during this period have small ovarian follicles (0.9-1.2 mm mean dia.) and lack stored sperm. All females collected from September-November have small follicles (0.6-1.6 mm mean dia.) and lack sperm, except in one instance in which a female collected in November had a small amount of degraded sperm, apparently retained from the previous breeding season. The spermathecae consist of simple tubulo-alveolar glands in which the neck tubules produce a mucoid secretory product, and the distal bulbs, where sperm are stored, contain secretory vacuoles of uniform density that stain positively for glycosaminoglycans. In specimens containing sperm, some bulbs have abundant sperm and others lack sperm, but the ultrastructure is similar in both conditions. The acini contain columnar epithelial cells with wide intercellular canaliculi, and a merocrine process releases the secretion. Spermiophagy occurs. In specimens from spring and summer with small ovarian follicles, the neck tubules are similar to those of breeding females, but the distal bulbs are reduced to cords of cells lacking a discernible lumen. Secretory activity in the distal bulbs is initiated in the fall. Spermathecae of R. variegatus are most similar to those of a stream-dwelling plethodontid, Eurycea cirrigera.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Sever
- Department of Biology, Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.
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Sperm Aggregations in the Spermathecae of Southern Torrent Salamanders, Rhyacotriton variegatus. J HERPETOL 2004. [DOI: 10.1670/164-03a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Jones AG, Adams EM, Arnold SJ. Topping off: a mechanism of first-male sperm precedence in a vertebrate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2002; 99:2078-81. [PMID: 11842198 PMCID: PMC122322 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.042510199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Competition among the sperm of rival males is an important evolutionary phenomenon in many organisms. Yet, despite extensive research on sperm competition in some vertebrate taxa, very little progress has been made on this topic in amphibians. Urodele amphibians (newts and salamanders) are of particular interest to theories of sperm competition because most urodele females--in contrast to other vertebrate females--control the transfer of sperm from the male. Here we present a molecular study of sperm precedence and storage patterns in the rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa). First, we used microsatellite markers to show that female newts typically use sperm from 1-3 males under natural and seminatural conditions. Second, we mated experimental females sequentially to two males and collected fertilized eggs in a temporal series. Patterns of paternity were consistent with first-male sperm precedence and complete mixing of sperm within the female. This simple pattern of sperm usage, best described as "topping off," is consistent with the expectation from sexual conflict theory that free female choice before insemination eliminates selective pressures for the evolution of complex patterns of paternity manipulation involving cryptic female choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam G Jones
- Department of Zoology, 3029 Cordley Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
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Abstract
The three orders of extant amphibians are Gymnophiona, Anura, and Urodela. Although all gymnophionans apparently have internal fertilization and many are viviparous, female sperm storage is unknown. Internal fertilization has convergently evolved in a few anurans, but females of just one species, Ascaphus truei, are known to possess oviductal sperm storage tubules (SSTs). The SSTs of A. truei are similar anatomically to such glands in squamate reptiles. This similarity is convergence due to similar functional adaptations and/or internal design constraints. In salamanders and newts (Urodela), absence of sperm storage in females is the ancestral condition (three families). In the derived condition, sperm storage occurs in cloacal glands called spermathecae, and their possession is a synapomorphy for females in the suborder Salamandroidea (seven families). Salamandroids are the only vertebrates with cloacal sperm storage glands. In this paper, a phenetic analysis of variation in spermathecal characters reveals patterns of convergence in certain spermathecal characters in unrelated taxa that breed in similar habitats. In the family Salamandridae, a role in sperm nutrition for the spermathecal epithelium is questioned, and the widespread occurrence of spermiophagy is related to other reproductive strategies. I propose how the packaging of sperm in structurally different types of spermathecae may influence male paternity.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Sever
- Department of Biology, Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
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Sever DM, Halliday T, Moriarty EC, Arano B. Sperm storage in females of the smooth newt (Triturus v. vulgaris L.): II. Ultrastructure of the spermathecae after the breeding season. ACTA ZOOL-STOCKHOLM 2001. [DOI: 10.1046/j.1463-6395.2001.00069.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Sever DM, Halliday T, Waights V, Brown J, Davies HA, Moriarty EC. Sperm storage in females of the smooth newt (Triturus v. vulgaris L.): I. Ultrastructure of the spermathecae during the breeding season. THE JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY 1999; 283:51-70. [PMID: 9990737 DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-010x(19990101)283:1<51::aid-jez7>3.0.co;2-i] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Sperm storage in cloacal spermathecae was studied in females of Triturus v. vulgaris collected early in the breeding season in southern England. Females collected in terrestrial situations, presumably unmated, were mated in the laboratory, and the ultrastructure of the transferred sperm and the spermathecae was observed at various intervals after mating. Sperm from a spermatophore cap lodged in a female's cloacal orifice can migrate into spermathecae within 1 hr after mating. Spherical structures on the axial fibers of some sperm in the cap could indicate immaturity. Disorderly clusters of sperm from the cap are still present in the cloacal chamber 12 hr after mating but are absent 24 hr after mating. During storage, sperm often are in tangled masses in the spermathecal tubules. The sperm are coated with spermathecal secretions, and some sperm nuclei were observed embedded in the spermathecal epithelium. Little evidence for spermiophagy early in the breeding season was found. During oviposition, mazes of sperm occur external to the spermathecal orifices, and sperm may be released in this condition onto eggs as they pass through the cloaca. The tangled clusters in which sperm are found from pick-up to oviposition are hypothesized as an adaptation to reduce the effectiveness of sperm competition from the ejaculates of rival males. Additional studies, using the same protocol and covering the entire cycle of sperm storage, are necessary to enable interspecific comparisons leading to phylogenetic hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M Sever
- Department of Biology, Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.
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Sever DM, Hamlett WC. Sperm aggregations in the spermatheca of female desmognathine salamanders (Amphibia: Urodela: Plethodontidae). J Morphol 1998; 238:143-155. [DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4687(199811)238:2<143::aid-jmor2>3.0.co;2-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Sperm morphology of salamandrids (Amphibia, Urodela): implications for phylogeny and fertilization biology. Tissue Cell 1997; 29:651-64. [DOI: 10.1016/s0040-8166(97)80041-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/1997] [Accepted: 07/17/1997] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Abstract
In northern Indiana, the mating season of Plethodon cinereus occurs after hibernation from March until June, when oviposition begins. During the mating season, a female stores sperm in its spermatheca, a compound tubular gland in the roof of the cloaca. The apical cytoplasm of the spermathecal epithelium is filled with large secretory vacuoles whose product is released while sperm are stored. Females induced to oviposit in June and July by injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) still retain much sperm 1 month after oviposition, but secretory vacuoles are absent in all specimens sacrificed in July and August. Instead, some sperm are embedded in the spermathecal epithelium with resultant spermiophagy involving lysosomes. A female sacrificed in September 2 months after oviposition possesses scant sperm, but spermiophagy alone does not seem extensive enough to account for the decrease in sperm numbers. Females sacrificed in October prior to hibernation lack sperm in their spermathecae; some secretory vacuoles are present, but they are not as numerous or as enlarged as in specimens collected in March and May. Inter- and intrafamilial differences in the cytology of sperm storage may not be phyletically informative at the family level but related to species-specific reproductive adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M Sever
- Department of Biology, Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.
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