Lack of sperm production and sperm storage by arctic‐nesting shorebirds during spring migration

• Published in: Ibis
• Main Authors: Rivers, James W., Briskie, James V.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2002
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1474-919x.2003.00121.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1046%2Fj.1474-919X.2003.00121.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1474-919X.2003.00121.x

Birds nesting at high latitudes may copulate during migration to arrive on the nesting grounds ready to breed. We surveyed 12 species of shorebirds during spring migration to determine whether (1) males produced abundant sperm and (2) females harboured functional sperm storage tubules (SSTs). Sperm production by males on migration was rare. Only four of seven species (9.8% of 41 males) of long‐distance migrants harboured sperm, whereas all four species (100% of eight males) of short‐distance migrants held sperm. In females, no long‐distance migrants held sperm in their SSTs ( n = 28 females) and SSTs were small compared to long‐distance migrants collected on their breeding grounds. Our results indicate that shorebirds nesting at high latitudes were generally not reproductively active during migration and that any sexual behaviour on migration is unlikely to lead directly to fertilizations.