Hit or Miss: Fertilization Outcomes of Natural Inseminations by Japanese Quail.

ABSTRACT: Variation in fertilization success underlies sexual selection, yet mating does not guarantee fertilization. The relationship between natural inseminations and fertilization success is essential for understanding sexual selection, yet that relationship and its underlying mechanisms are poorly understood in sperm-storing vertebrates such as birds. Here the relationship is analyzed in mating trials using Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), which show striking variation in the fertilizing success of inseminations. Failures of males' inseminations to fertilize eggs were mainly due to failures prior to sperm-egg contact. Fertilization probabilities on any given day were unrelated to whether the female had laid an egg the previous day, arguing against stimulation of sperm release from sperm stora

SUBMITTER: Adkins-Regan E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4519265 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature