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Sperm competition

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Sperm competition is competition between sperm of two or more males for the fertilisation of an ova. Sperm competition may lead to evolutionary adaptations for producing more sperm, such as larger testes. Such adaptations cost and so species with low sperm competition invest in mate competition instead.

The British biologist Geoffrey Parker proposed the concept of sperm competition in a 1970 paper.

In primates Harcourt et al (1981) studied the relative size of testes compared to body mass against the mating system. They found that promiscuous chimpanzees have larger testes compared to polygynous gorillas.

References

  • Harcourt, A.H., Harvey, P.H., Larson, S.G., and Short, R.V. 1981. "Testis weight, body weight and breeding system in primates", Nature 293: 55–57.
  • Parker, G.A. 1970. "Sperm competition and its evolutionary consequences in the insects", Biological Reviews 45: 525-567.

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