Open AccessInfluenza del sistema riproduttivo sulla variabilità delle vescicole seminali nei gobidi.
Author(s) -
Mazzoldi C.,
Petersen C. W.,
Rasotto M. B.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of zoological systematics and evolutionary research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.769
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1439-0469
pISSN - 0947-5745
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0469.2005.00331.x
Subject(s) - biology , sperm competition , sperm , interspecific competition , teleostei , zoology , seminal vesicle , mating , intraspecific competition , ecology , botany , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , genetics , prostate , cancer
A variety of sexual selection mechanisms have been implicated to drive the variability of the male reproductive tract in internal fertilizers, while studies on external fertilizers have been largely limited to exploring the influence of sperm competition on testis size and sperm number. Males in the Gobiidae, a speciose teleost family of demersal spawners with external fertilization, are known to be characterized by accessory structures to the sperm duct called seminal vesicles. These seminal vesicles secrete a mucus‐enriched seminal fluid. Seminal vesicle size and function have been demonstrated to be influenced by sperm competition at the intraspecific level. With the aim to test the factors influencing the development of these male organs at the interspecific level, an independent contrast analysis was performed on 12 species, differing in mating system type, sperm competition risk, and duration of egg deposition. The type of mating system appears to be the main factor significantly affecting development of seminal vesicles, with males of monogamous species completely lacking or having extremely reduced organs.