10.5061/DRYAD.83BK3J9TR
Pinzoni, Livia
0000-0002-1013-039X
University of Padua
Poli, Federica
University of Padua
Grapputo, Alessandro
University of Padua
Rasotto, Maria Berica
University of Padua
Gasparini, Clelia
University of Padua
Female reproductive fluid increases the opportunities for post-mating
sexual selection by prolonging egg fertilization window
Dryad
dataset
2022
Post-mating sexual selection
Ovarian fluid
Zebrafish
Sperm competition
Female reproductive fluid
FOS: Biological sciences
2022-04-25T00:00:00Z
2022-04-25T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6448584
10202 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Female reproductive fluid, the fluid that surrounds the eggs, has
attracted increasing attention for its role in fertilization and
post-mating sexual selection through its effects on sperm traits.
Surprisingly, however, only a few studies have investigated the effects of
female reproductive fluid on the eggs. Yet, these effects might offer
great potential to affect fertilization dynamics by, for example,
increasing the opportunities for post-mating sexual selection. Here, we
determined whether, by extending the egg fertilization window (time
available for egg fertilization), the female reproductive fluid could also
increase the opportunities for multiple paternity. Using the
Zebrafish Danio rerio we first tested the prediction that female
reproductive fluid increases the egg fertilization window, and then, using
a split-brood design with sperm of two males added at different times
after eggs activation, we tested whether the degree of multiple paternity
varies in presence or absence of female reproductive fluid. Our results
reveal the potential of the female reproductive fluid to increase multiple
paternity throughout its effects on the egg fertilization window
thus broadening our knowledge of the mechanisms females in externally
fertilizing species affect post-mating sexual selection.