ArticleBiology letters2013
Patterns of sperm damage in Chernobyl passerine birds suggest a trade-off between sperm length and integrity.
Article in Biology letters, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Self-adaptive and efficient propulsion of Ray sperms at different viscosities enabled by heterogeneous dual helixes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021Article
- Effects of environmental radiation on testes and spermatogenesis in wild large Japanese field mice (Apodemus speciosus) from Fukushima.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Aspermy, sperm quality and radiation in Chernobyl birds.PloS one · 2014Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Interspecific variation in sperm size is enigmatic, but generally assumed to reflect species-specific trade-offs in selection pressures. Among passerine birds, sperm length varies sevenfold, and sperm competition risk seems to drive the evolution of longer sperm. However, little is known about factors favouring short sperm or constraining the evolution of longer sperm. Here, we report a comparative analysis of sperm head abnormalities among 11 species of passerine bird in Chernobyl, presumably resulting from chronic irradiation following the 1986 accident. Frequencies of sperm abnormalities varied between 15.7 and 77.3% among species, more than fourfold higher than in uncontaminated areas. Nonetheless, species ranked similarly in sperm abnormalities in unpolluted areas as in Chernobyl, pointing to intrinsic factors underlying variation in sperm damage among species. Scanning electron microscopy of abnormal spermatozoa revealed patterns of acrosome damage consistent with premature acrosome reaction. Sperm length, but not sperm competition risk explained variation in sperm damage among species. This suggests that longer spermatozoa are more susceptible to premature acrosome reaction. Therefore, we hypothesize a trade-off between sperm length and sperm integrity affecting sperm evolution in passerine birds.
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