Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39901585›Full record

ArticleEcology letters2025

Reproductive Interference Alters Species Coexistence in Nematodes due to Asymmetric Sperm-Induced Harm.

Rebecca Schalkowski, Katja R Kasimatis, Megan A Greischar, Asher D Cutter

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Ecology letters, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Rebecca SchalkowskiDepartment of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6745-1134
Katja R KasimatisDepartment of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Megan A GreischarDepartment of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7521-9344
Asher D CutterDepartment of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7141-0013

Funding

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada RGPIN-2018-05098
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Species coexistence is shaped by a range of biotic and abiotic factors. Beyond predation, parasitism and competition, one species may interfere with another's reproduction to induce sexual exclusion from a habitat. Here, we test for reproductive interference from inter-species mating between sympatric nematodes Caenorhabditis macrosperma and C. nouraguensis. Higher intrinsic population growth of C. nouraguensis arises from greater reproductive output by both sexes, predicting it to be superior in resource competition. Mate discrimination between species is incomplete, however, with inter-species mating errors reducing lifespan and reproductive fitness of female C. nouraguensis only. These asymmetric costs arise within hours, due to ectopic migration of C. macrosperma's giant sperm cells. We modelled the population dynamic impacts of reproductive interference, then confirmed rapid sexual exclusion in mixed-species communities with multi-generation experiments. These findings demonstrate the profound ecological implications of reproductive interference for demographic parameters and species coexistence through a cell-mediated mechanism of inter-species harm.

Indexed as

CaenorhabditisSpermatozoaAnimalsFemaleMalePopulation DynamicsReproductionSexual Behavior, AnimalSpecies SpecificitySympatryassortative matingCaenorhabditiscoexistenceinterspecific interactionspre‐zygotic reproductive isolationreproductive interferencesexual exclusionspecies boundariessperm gigantism

Identifiers

PMID39901585
PMCPMC11791382

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.