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Cooperatively breeding cichlid fish adjust their testis size but not sperm traits in relation to sperm competition risk

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Abstract

Theoretical models predict that in external fertilisers, sperm competition risk selects for larger testes and larger sperm with higher velocity, at the expense of sperm longevity. Although several empirical studies have tested this prediction within a fish species, there has been little evidence that an individual male can adjust his testis size and sperm traits according to the risk of sperm competition. Using the cooperatively breeding cichlid Julidochromis transcriptus, we examined testis size and sperm traits (sperm size, velocity and longevity) of males that were assigned to monogamous pairs (without risk of sperm competition) or cooperatively polyandrous trios composed of two males and one female (with risk); the groups were reared for breeding for 2 or more months. Our experiments showed that the polyandrous males, both siring eggs in a clutch, had larger relative testis mass than the monogamous males. However, sperm traits were unrelated to sperm competition. These results suggest that individual males of J. transcriptus can adjust their testis size but not sperm traits in response to sperm competition risk. We also examined the effect of testis investment on growth rate and the somatic condition of males. Increased investment in testes slowed growth rates, whereas testis investment did not affect somatic condition, indicating a trade-off between investment in testes and growth. We conclude that testis investment, in response to perceived sperm competition risks, occurs at the expense of growth and may be a conditional reproductive strategy that is determined by the social status (monogamous or polyandrous) of each J. transcriptus male.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Shibata and K. Ota for their help during the aquarium experiments, and Y. Tarui, H. Muhehara, Y. Hayakawa, R. Kato, R. Tamai, M. Miyata and the members of the Laboratory of Cell Biology, Osaka City University, for their help with the measurements of sperm concentration and sperm traits. We are also grateful to D. Heg, Y. Nakashima, K. Karino, D. Gomagano, K. Lindström and two anonymous referees for their comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. This study received financial support to M.K. from a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and was partly supported by the 21st Century COE program of the University of the Ryukyus and Research Fellowships of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists to S.A. The research presented here was performed in compliance with the guideline of the Animal Care and Use Committee of Osaka City University and the Japan Ethological Society.

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  1. Satoshi Awata

    Present address: Usujiri Fisheries Station, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, 152 Usujiri, Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041-1613, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto, Sumiyoshi, Osaka, 558-8585, Japan

    Satoshi Awata, Tomohiro Takeyama, Yoshimi Makino, Yuko Kitamura & Masanori Kohda

  2. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University, 8050 Ninocho, Ikarashi, Niigata, 950-2181, Japan

    Tomohiro Takeyama

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Correspondence to Satoshi Awata.

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Communicated by K. Lindström

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Awata, S., Takeyama, T., Makino, Y. et al. Cooperatively breeding cichlid fish adjust their testis size but not sperm traits in relation to sperm competition risk. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 62, 1701–1710 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-008-0598-0

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