Temporal dynamics of competitive fertilization in social groups of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) shed new light on avian sperm competition

Carleial, Rômulo, McDonald, Grant C., Spurgin, Lewis G., Fairfield, Eleanor A., Wang, Yunke, Richardson, David S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7226-9074 and Pizzari, Tommaso (2020) Temporal dynamics of competitive fertilization in social groups of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) shed new light on avian sperm competition. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 375 (1813). ISSN 0962-8436

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Abstract

Studies of birds have made a fundamental contribution to elucidating sperm competition processes, experimentally demonstrating the role of individual mechanisms in competitive fertilization. However, the relative importance of these mechanisms and the way in which they interact under natural conditions remain largely unexplored. Here, we conduct a detailed behavioural study of freely mating replicate groups of red junglefowl, Gallus gallus, to predict the probability that competing males fertilize individual eggs over the course of 10-day trials. Remating frequently with a female and mating last increased a male's probability of fertilization, but only for eggs ovulated in the last days of a trial. Conversely, older males, and those mating with more polyandrous females, had consistently lower fertilization success. Similarly, resistance to a male's mating attempts, particularly by younger females, reduced fertilization probability. After considering these factors, male social status, partner relatedness and the estimated state of male extragonadal sperm reserves did not predict sperm competition outcomes. These results shed new light on sperm competition dynamics in taxa such as birds, with prolonged female sperm storage and staggered fertilizations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Fifty years of sperm competition'.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Funding: R.C. was supported by a DPhil scholarship from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) (grant no. 234988/2014-2), G.C.M. was supported by a PhD CASE scholarship from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and Aviagen Ltd, an industrial LINK award from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and Aviagen Ltd (grant no. BB/L009587/1) to T.P., and by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, Hungary (grant no. NN 125642). D.S.R. was supported by a research grant from the Natural Environment Research Council (grant no. NE/H006818/1). T.P. was supported by a research grant from the Natural Environment Research Council (grant no. NE/H008047/1) and an industrial LINK award from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and Aviagen Ltd (grant no. BB/L009587/1). L.G.S. was supported by a BBSRC fellowship (grant no. BB/N011759/1).
Uncontrolled Keywords: mating order,passive sperm loss,paternity share,post-copulatory sexual selection,remating rates,reproductive senescence,biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology(all),agricultural and biological sciences(all) ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1300
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 13 Nov 2020 01:11
Last Modified: 18 Aug 2023 00:48
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/77676
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0081

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