Open AccessSperm length in sand martins Riparia riparia : a comment on Helfenstein et al
Author(s) -
Kleven Oddmund,
Laskemoen Terje,
Lifjeld Jan T.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of avian biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.022
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1600-048X
pISSN - 0908-8857
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-048x.2009.04766.x
Subject(s) - biology , intraspecific competition , sperm , spermatozoon , longevity , zoology , sperm competition , ecology , evolutionary biology , genetics
How long is a sand martin Riparia riparia spermatozoon? In a recent study, Helfenstein et al. (2008) presented data on the intraspecific variation in sperm length, swimming speed and longevity in this species and some interesting correlations between these variables. However, the reported sperm lengths are remarkably short for the species, which casts doubts about whether sperm total length has actually been measured and how the observed relationships should be interpreted.