Are secondary sex traits, parasites and immunity related to variation in primary sex traits in the Arctic charr?
Primary and secondary sex traits are influenced by the same sex hormones, and the expression of secondary sex traits may consequently signal males' capacity for sperm production. Sperm quality may also be influenced by immune activity, as sperm are non-self to the male. Parasite infections alte...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:1809974 2023-05-15T14:29:59+02:00 Are secondary sex traits, parasites and immunity related to variation in primary sex traits in the Arctic charr? Måsvaer, Marthe Liljedal, Ståle Folstad, Ivar 2004-02-07 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1809974 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15101414 en eng http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1809974 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15101414 Research Article Text 2004 ftpubmed 2013-08-31T18:09:58Z Primary and secondary sex traits are influenced by the same sex hormones, and the expression of secondary sex traits may consequently signal males' capacity for sperm production. Sperm quality may also be influenced by immune activity, as sperm are non-self to the male. Parasite infections alter immune activity and may thus reduce ejaculate quality. In the Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) the red abdominal colour is considered an ornament that signals important information in mate choice. We captured and individually caged sexually mature male Arctic charr during the spawning period. Afterwards we estimated abdominal colour, parasite infections, gonad mass and several spermatological and immunological variables. Intensity of abdominal colour was positively correlated to testes mass, milt mass and sperm cell numbers produced. Additionally, males with low parasite intensities had high testes mass and produced milt with high sperm density, indicating a trade-off between parasite resistance and development of primary sex traits. Our measures of immunity were, however, not related to primary sex traits. We conclude that females evaluating male abdominal coloration may obtain information about differences between males in fertilization potential and parasite resistance. Text Arctic charr Arctic Salvelinus alpinus PubMed Central (PMC) Arctic |
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Research Article Måsvaer, Marthe Liljedal, Ståle Folstad, Ivar Are secondary sex traits, parasites and immunity related to variation in primary sex traits in the Arctic charr? |
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Research Article |
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Primary and secondary sex traits are influenced by the same sex hormones, and the expression of secondary sex traits may consequently signal males' capacity for sperm production. Sperm quality may also be influenced by immune activity, as sperm are non-self to the male. Parasite infections alter immune activity and may thus reduce ejaculate quality. In the Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) the red abdominal colour is considered an ornament that signals important information in mate choice. We captured and individually caged sexually mature male Arctic charr during the spawning period. Afterwards we estimated abdominal colour, parasite infections, gonad mass and several spermatological and immunological variables. Intensity of abdominal colour was positively correlated to testes mass, milt mass and sperm cell numbers produced. Additionally, males with low parasite intensities had high testes mass and produced milt with high sperm density, indicating a trade-off between parasite resistance and development of primary sex traits. Our measures of immunity were, however, not related to primary sex traits. We conclude that females evaluating male abdominal coloration may obtain information about differences between males in fertilization potential and parasite resistance. |
format |
Text |
author |
Måsvaer, Marthe Liljedal, Ståle Folstad, Ivar |
author_facet |
Måsvaer, Marthe Liljedal, Ståle Folstad, Ivar |
author_sort |
Måsvaer, Marthe |
title |
Are secondary sex traits, parasites and immunity related to variation in primary sex traits in the Arctic charr? |
title_short |
Are secondary sex traits, parasites and immunity related to variation in primary sex traits in the Arctic charr? |
title_full |
Are secondary sex traits, parasites and immunity related to variation in primary sex traits in the Arctic charr? |
title_fullStr |
Are secondary sex traits, parasites and immunity related to variation in primary sex traits in the Arctic charr? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Are secondary sex traits, parasites and immunity related to variation in primary sex traits in the Arctic charr? |
title_sort |
are secondary sex traits, parasites and immunity related to variation in primary sex traits in the arctic charr? |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1809974 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15101414 |
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Arctic |
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Arctic |
genre |
Arctic charr Arctic Salvelinus alpinus |
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Arctic charr Arctic Salvelinus alpinus |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1809974 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15101414 |
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1766303928818860032 |