Large-male advantages associated with costs of sperm production in Drosophila hydei, a species with giant sperm

Males of the fruit fly Drosophila hydei were found to produce 23.47 +/- 0.46-mm-long spermatozoa, the longest ever described. No relationship was found between male body size and sperm length. We predicted that if these giant gametes are costly for males to produce, then correlations should exist be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1994-09, Vol.91 (20), p.9277-9281
Main Authors: Pitnick, S, Markow, T.A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal reproduction
Animals
Biological Evolution
Body Constitution
body length
Body size
Body Weight
copulation
correlation
Drosophila
Drosophila - anatomy & histology
Drosophila - physiology
Drosophila hydei
Evolution
Female
Female animals
Fertility
fertilization (reproduction)
Insects
Male
Male animals
Mating behavior
Regression analysis
reproductive efficiency
sexual maturity
size
Spermatogenesis
Spermatozoa
Spermatozoa - physiology
Testes
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Summary:Males of the fruit fly Drosophila hydei were found to produce 23.47 +/- 0.46-mm-long spermatozoa, the longest ever described. No relationship was found between male body size and sperm length. We predicted that if these giant gametes are costly for males to produce, then correlations should exist between male body size, rates of sperm production, and fitness attributes associated with the production of sperm. Smaller males were found to make a greater relative investment in testicular tissue growth, even though they have shorter and thinner testes. Smaller males were also found to (i) be maturing fewer sperm bundles within the testes at any point in time than larger nudes, (ii) require a longer period of time post-eclosion to become reproductively mature, (iii) mate with fewer females, (iv) transfer fewer sperm per copulation, and (v) produce fewer progeny. The significance of these findings for body size-related fitness and the question of sperm size evolution are discussed.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.91.20.9277