Ejaculate quality, testes size and sperm competition in primates

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Abstract

Literature data on 25 primate species were examined for correlations between measures of ejaculate quality and testes size and body size, respectively. Ejaculate volume and sperm concentration were positively correlated with body size in an interspecific analysis. In contrast, number of sperm per ejaculate, sperm motility, and number of motile sperm per ejaculate were not significantly correlated with body size. Data on interspecific variation in ejaculate quality showed that primate species with relatively large testes also produced ejaculates with relatively large volumes, high sperm counts, high sperm motility, and more motile sperm. Sperm motility and the number of sperm contributed independently to the number of motile sperm. Testes size, after controlling for the effect of body size, was related to breeding system in primates; species in which more than one male copulated with each oestrous female had larger testes than those with single-male breeding systems. Primate species with multi-male breeding systems produced ejaculates with relatively higher sperm motility and with relatively more motile sperm than did primates with single-male systems.

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