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opencc-by-4.0Dec 2019View details →

Behavioural observations and sperm counts of Lissopimpla excelsa (deceived by Cryptostylis)

This data was collected Dec - Feb 2017/2019 as part of research on the behaviour and sperm use of the sexually deceived pollinator, Lissopimpla excelsa.  We wanted to know whether (1) Males could become sperm depleted; (2) If males varied sperm use with each pollination event  and (3) whether behaviour/morphology differed between males that did and did not live in sympatry with sexually deceptive (Cryptostylis) orchids.

opencc-zeroJul 2020View details →

Paternal effects in a wild-type zebrafish implicate a role of sperm-derived small RNAs

While the importance of maternal effects has long been appreciated, a growing body of evidence now points to the paternal environment having an important influence on offspring phenotype. Indeed, research on rodent models suggests that paternal stress leaves an imprint on the behaviour and physiology of offspring via non-genetic information carried in the spermatozoa, however fish have been understudied with regard to these sperm-mediated effects. Here we investigated whether the zebrafish was subject to heritable influences of paternal stress by exposing males to stressors (conspecific-derived alarm cue, chasing, and bright light) before mating and assessing the behavioural and endocrine responses of their offspring, including their behavioural response to conspecific-derived alarm cue. We found that after males are exposed to stress, their larval offspring show weakened responses to stressors. Small RNA sequencing subsequently revealed that the levels of several small noncoding RNAs, including microRNAs, PIWI-interacting RNAs, and tRNA-derived small RNAs, were altered in the spermatozoa of stressed fathers, suggesting that stress-induced alterations to the spermatozoal RNA landscape may contribute to shaping offspring phenotype. The work demonstrates that paternal stress should not be overlooked as a source of phenotypic variation and that spermatozoal small RNAs may be important intergenerational messengers in fish.

opencc-zeroOct 2020View details →

Within-population sperm competition intensity does not predict asymmetry in conpopulation sperm precedence

Postcopulatory sexual selection can generate evolutionary arms races between the sexes resulting in the rapid coevolution of reproductive phenotypes. As traits affecting fertilization success diverge between populations, postmating prezygotic (PMPZ) barriers to gene flow may evolve. Conspecific sperm precedence is a form of PMPZ isolation thought to evolve early during speciation yet has mostly been studied between species. Here , we show conpopulation sperm precedence (CpSP) between Drosophila montana populations. Using Pool-seq genomic data we estimate divergence times and ask whether PMPZ isolation evolved in the face of gene flow. We find models incorporating gene flow fit the data best indicating populations experienced considerable gene flow during divergence. We find CpSP is asymmetric and mirrors asymmetry in non-competitive PMPZ isolation, suggesting these phenomena have a shared mechanism. However, we show asymmetry is unrelated to the strength of postcopulatory sexual selection acting within populations. We tested whether overlapping foreign and coevolved ejaculates within the female reproductive tract altered fertilization success but found no effect. Our results show that neither time since divergence nor sperm competitiveness predicts the strength of PMPZ isolation. We suggest that instead cryptic female choice or mutation-order divergence may drive divergence of postcopulatory phenotypes resulting in PMPZ isolation. This article is part of the theme issue 'Fifty years of sperm competition'.

opencc-by-4.0Jun 2021View details →

Data for: Faster rates of molecular sequence evolution in reproduction-related genes and in species with hypodermic sperm morphologies

This repository contains a record of analysis scripts and sequence alignments used for the analyses presented in the manuscript. Some of the R scripts depend on supplementary tables associated with the manuscript.

opencc-zeroJan 2020View details →

Exploring variability in the diet of depredating sperm whales in the Gulf of Alaska through stable isotope analysis

Sperm whales interact with commercially important groundfish fisheries offshore in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This study aims to use stable isotope analysis to better understand the trophic variability of sperm whales and their potential prey, and to use dietary mixing models to estimate the importance of prey species to sperm whale diets. We analyzed tissue samples from sperm whales and seven potential prey (five groundfish and two squid species). Samples were analyzed for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios, and diet composition was estimated using Bayesian isotopic mixing models. Mixing model results suggest that an isotopically combined sablefish/dogfish group, skates, and rockfish make up the largest proportion of sperm whale diets (35%, 28% and 12%) in the GOA. The top prey items of whales that interact more frequently with fishing vessels consisted of skates (49%) and the sablefish/dogfish group (24%). This is the first known study to provide an isotopic baseline of adult male sperm whales and these adult groundfish and offshore squid species, and to assign contributions of prey to whale diets in the GOA. This study provides information to commercial fishermen and fisheries managers to better understand trophic connections of important commercial species.

opencc-zeroMar 2020View details →

Novelty and emergent patterns in sperm: morphological diversity and evolution of spermatozoa and sperm conjugation in ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

The beetle family Carabidae, with about 40,000 species, exhibits enough diversity in sperm structure and behavior to be an excellent model system for studying patterns and processes of sperm evolution. We explore their potential, documenting sperm form in 177 species of ground beetles using light microscopy and collecting data on 1 qualitative and 7 quantitative sperm phenotypic traits. Our sampling captures 61% of the tribal-level diversity of ground beetles. These data highlight the notable morphological diversity of sperm in ground beetles and suggest that sperm in the group have dynamic evolutionary histories with much morphological innovation and convergence. Sperm vary among species in total length (48–3,400mm), head length (0.5–270mm), and head width (0.2–6.3mm). Most ground beetles make sperm with heads that are indistinct from the flagella at the gross morphological level. However, some or all Omophron,Trachypachus, and Dyschiriini make broad-headed sperm that show morphological differences between species. Most ground beetles package their sperm into groups of sperm, termed conjugates, and ground beetles show variation in conjugate form and in the number and arrangement of sperm in a conjugate. Most ground beetles make sperm conjugates by embedding their sperm in a hyaline rod or spermatostyle. The spermatostyle is remarkably variable among species and varies in length from 17–41,000mm. Several unrelated groups of ground beetles make only singleton sperm, including Nebriinae, Cicindelinae, many Trechinae, and the tribe Paussini. In order to study patterns in sperm evolution, we combine these data with a low-resolution phylogeny of ground beetles. Results from modern comparative analyses suggest the following: sperm differ from conjugates in some aspect of their underlying evolutionary process, sperm have influenced conjugate evolution and vice versa, and conjugation with a spermatostyle likely evolved early within the history of Carabidae and it has been lost independently at least three times.

opencc-zeroOct 2023View details →

Paternal environment effects are driven by female reproductive fluid but not sperm age in an external fertiliser

Sperm ageing after ejaculation can generate paternal environmental effects that impact offspring fitness. In many species, female reproductive fluids (FRFs), i.e. ancillary fluids released by eggs or within the female reproductive tract, may protect sperm from ageing and can additionally interact with sperm to influence offspring viability. This raises the intriguing prospect that FRFs may alleviate paternal effects associated with sperm ageing. Here, we test this novel hypothesis using the broadcast spawning mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis. We show that incubating sperm in FRF prior to fertilisation increases offspring viability and that these effects occur independently of sperm age. Our results provide novel evidence that FRFs allow females to selectively bias fertilisation toward higher quality sperm within an ejaculate, which in turn yields more viable offspring. We consider this FRF-mediated paternal effect in the context of female physiological control over fertilisation and the transgenerational effects of female-regulated haploid selection.

FIG. 7 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna

FIG. 7. — Cranium of Diaphorocetus poucheti (Moreno, 1892) MLP 5-6 (holotype) in dorsal (A), ventral (B), right lateral (C), and posterior (D) views, illustrating among others some diagnostic characters at the genus and species levels. The figured photos were taken by one of us (CM) in 1981, with a preservation state that is closer to the original illustrations in Lydekker (1893), prior to the separation of the right and left rostral parts and pterygoids/palatines from the neurocranium and with more complete antorbital notches and right orbit. Scale bar: 200 mm.

FIG. 4FIG. 4 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna

FIG. 4FIG. 4. — Cranium of Diaphorocetus ortegai n. sp. MUSM 3246 (holotype, Chilcatay Formation, East Pisco Basin, Peru) in left (A) and right (B) lateral views. Black dashed lines for sutures, foramina, and outline of several bones and temporal fossa; red dashed line for posterior outline of supracranial basin. Scale bar: 200 mm.

FIG. 1 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna

FIG. 1. — Geographic and geological setting. A, Location of the main outcrops of the Chilcatay Formation along the southern coast of Peru. B, Simplified map providing the position of Ullujaya (the type locality of Diaphorocetus ortegai n. sp.) alongside other highly fossiliferous sites of the Ica desert (including Zamaca, the type locality of Rhaphicetus valenciae Lambert, Muizon, Urbina & Bianucci, 2020). C, Schematic stratigraphic column of the Cenozoic succession exposed in the East Pisco Basin. D, Simplified stratigraphic section of the Chilcatay Formation in Ullujaya, showing the exact position of the holotype of D. ortegai n. sp. in the Ct1 allomember, Ct1a facies association. E, Simplified stratigraphic section of the Chilcatay Formation in Zamaca, showing the exact position of the holotype of R. valenciae in the Ct1 allomember, Ct1a facies association. Both sections D and E include positions of ash layers dated with 40Ar/39Ar and shell-rich beds dated with 87Sr/86Sr along with the corresponding age estimates (after Bosio et al. 2022). Maps and sections modified from Bianucci et al. (2018b), Di Celma et al. (2018, 2019), Bosio et al. (2020, 2022), and Lambert et al. (2020).

APPENDIX 5 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna

APPENDIX 5. — Strict consensus of 15 most parsimonious trees resulting from the heuristic search performed with down-weighting of homoplastic characters (k = 3). Tree length 188; Goloboff fit -42.64; CI 0.45; RI 0.68.

FIG. 6 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna

FIG. 6. — Cranium of Diaphorocetus ortegai n. sp. MUSM 3246 (holotype, Chilcatay Formation, East Pisco Basin, Peru) in right (A) and left (B) anterodorsolateral views. Black dashed lines for sutures, foramina, bony nares, and outline of several bones. Scale bar: 200 mm.

FIG. 3 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna

FIG. 3. — Cranium of Diaphorocetus ortegai n. sp. MUSM 3246 (holotype, Chilcatay Formation, East Pisco Basin, Peru) in ventral view; photo and corresponding line drawing. Hatching for main break surfaces; black dashed lines for more tentative interpretations of sutures and edges. ali: alisphenoid. Scale bar: 200 mm.

FIG. 9 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna

FIG. 9. — Comparison of the crania of Diaphorocetus ortegai n. sp. MUSM 3246 (holotype) (a, c) and Rhaphicetus valenciae Lambert, Muizon, Urbina & Bianucci, 2020 MUSM 2543 (holotype) (B, D), both from the Chilcatay Formation (East Pisco Basin, Peru), in dorsal (A, B) and right lateral (C, D) views, based on 3D models resulting from surface-scanning (see Appendices 1; 2), illustrating the difference in the cross-section of the maxillae on the rostrum (much more dorsoventrally flattened in D. ortegai n. sp.). Note that most of the premaxillae is lost on the rostrum of the holotype of D. ortegai n. sp., truncating the dorsal part of the anterior cross-sections. Scale bar: 200 mm.

FIG. 2 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna

FIG. 2. — Cranium of Diaphorocetus ortegai n. sp. MUSM 3246 (holotype, Chilcatay Formation, East Pisco Basin, Peru) in dorsal view; photo and corresponding line drawing. Grey shading for sediment; hatching for main break surfaces; black dashed lines for more tentative interpretations of sutures and edges; and red dashed lines for posterior and lateral outlines of supracranial basin. Scale bar: 200 mm.

FIG. 5 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna

FIG. 5. — Cranium of Diaphorocetus ortegai n. sp. MUSM 3246 (holotype, Chilcatay Formation, East Pisco Basin, Peru) in anterodorsal view (A) (photo and corresponding line drawing) and posterior view (B). Grey shading for sediment; hatching for main break surfaces; black dashed lines for more tentative interpretations of sutures and edges; red dashed lines for posterior outline of supracranial basin and outline of brain cavity. Scale bars: 200 mm.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2013View details →

Fig. 2 in Dependence of spermatophore size and sperm number on body weight in various cricket species (Insecta, Orthoptera)

Fig. 2: Linear regression analyses elucidating possible relationships between ampulla diameter and body weight (a) as well as between number of sperm and ampulla diameter (b). Data obtained for all investigated cricket species have been plotted (N = 80).