Sperm length variation among Afrotropical songbirds reflects phylogeny rather than adaptations to the tropical environment.

Autor: Omotoriogun TC; Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern, NO-0318 Oslo, Norway; A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, University of Jos, P.O. Box 13404, Nigeria; Biotechnology Unit, Department of Biological Sciences, Elizade University, P.M.B. 002, Ilara-Mokin, Nigeria. Electronic address: taiwo.omotoriogun@elizadeuniversity.edu.ng., Albrecht T; Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Květná 8, Brno, CZ-60305, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Viničná 7, CZ-12844, Czech Republic. Electronic address: albrecht@ivb.cz., Gohli J; Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern, NO-0318 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: jostein.gohli@gmail.com., Hořák D; Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Viničná 7, CZ-12844, Czech Republic. Electronic address: david.horak@natur.cuni.cz., Johannessen LE; Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern, NO-0318 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: l.e.johannessen@nhm.uio.no., Johnsen A; Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern, NO-0318 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: arild.johnsen@nhm.uio.no., Kreisinger J; Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Viničná 7, CZ-12844, Czech Republic. Electronic address: jakubkreisinger@seznam.cz., Marki PZ; Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern, NO-0318 Oslo, Norway; Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: zoothera87@hotmail.com., Ottosson U; A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, University of Jos, P.O. Box 13404, Nigeria. Electronic address: ulfottossonlux@gmail.com., Rowe M; Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern, NO-0318 Oslo, Norway; Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway; Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6700 AB, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Electronic address: M.Rowe@nioo.knaw.nl., Sedláček O; Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Viničná 7, CZ-12844, Czech Republic. Electronic address: zbrd@email.cz., Lifjeld JT; Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern, NO-0318 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: j.t.lifjeld@nhm.uio.no.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Zoology (Jena, Germany) [Zoology (Jena)] 2020 Jun; Vol. 140, pp. 125770. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Mar 23.
DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2020.125770
Abstrakt: Sperm cells vary tremendously in size and shape across the animal kingdom. In songbirds (Aves: Passeri), sperm have a characteristic helical form but vary considerably in size. Most of our knowledge about sperm morphology in this group stems from studies of species in the Northern temperate zone, while little is known about the numerous species in the tropics. Here we examined sperm size in 125 Afrotropical songbird species with emphasis on the length of the major structural components (head, midpiece, flagellum), and total sperm length measured using light microscopy. Mean total sperm length varied from 51 μm to 212 μm across species. Those belonging to the Corvoidea superfamily had relatively short sperm with a small midpiece, while those of the three major Passeridan superfamilies Passeroidea, Muscicapoidea and Sylvioidea showed large interspecific variation in total sperm length and associated variation in midpiece length. These patterns are consistent with previous findings for temperate species in the same major clades. A comparative analysis with songbird species from the Northern temperate zone (N = 139) showed large overlap in sperm length ranges although certain temperate families (e.g. Parulidae, Emberizidae) typically have long sperm and certain Afrotropical families (e.g. Cisticolidae, Estrildidae) have relatively short sperm. Afrotropical and temperate species belonging to the same families showed no consistent contrasts in sperm length. Sperm length variation among Afrotropical and Northern temperate songbirds exhibits a strong phylogenetic signal with little or no evidence for any directional latitudinal effect among closely related taxa.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
(Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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