Structure and allometry of genitalia in males and females of a social African ground squirrel with high polygynandry
The few studies that have looked at genital allometry in mammals have typically shown a positively allometric relationship with body size and high coefficients of variation. Cryptic female choice, sexual conflict or sperm competition are mechanisms underlying genital evolution and as these are not m...
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ftunicentralflor:oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:facultybib2000-1680 2023-05-15T16:33:45+02:00 Structure and allometry of genitalia in males and females of a social African ground squirrel with high polygynandry 2008-01-01T08:00:00Z https://stars.library.ucf.edu/facultybib2000/681 English eng STARS https://stars.library.ucf.edu/facultybib2000/681 Faculty Bibliography 2000s genitalia sexual selection allometry polygynandry SPERM COMPETITION GAMES XERUS-INAURIS PAGOPHILUS-GROENLANDICUS FERTILIZATION SUCCESS TESTIS SIZE HARP SEAL EVOLUTION COEVOLUTION MAMMALS Zoology text 2008 ftunicentralflor 2021-12-21T08:57:54Z The few studies that have looked at genital allometry in mammals have typically shown a positively allometric relationship with body size and high coefficients of variation. Cryptic female choice, sexual conflict or sperm competition are mechanisms underlying genital evolution and as these are not mutually exclusive, they are often difficult to disentangle. In addition, these mechanisms are affected by both male and female social structure and/or mating strategies and, as such, pre- and post-copulatory behaviours have been shown to alter selection on genitalia. We examined genital traits and allometry in a polygynandrous and social ground squirrel Xerus inauris. We found that male testes are positively allometric and account for 1.5% of their body weight, one of the highest percentages known for sciurids. The penis, at 42.4% of head/body length, was isometric while the female reproductive tract, 22.4% head/body length, demonstrated no such relationship. Based on the allometric relationships of both males and females presented here, in conjunction with high levels of competition for females and lack of male aggression and territoriality, we suggest that sperm competition is the most likely mechanism for the evolution of the extremely large genitalia in this species. Text Harp Seal Pagophilus groenlandicus University of Central Florida (UCF): STARS (Showcase of Text, Archives, Research & Scholarship) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Central Florida (UCF): STARS (Showcase of Text, Archives, Research & Scholarship) |
op_collection_id |
ftunicentralflor |
language |
English |
topic |
genitalia sexual selection allometry polygynandry SPERM COMPETITION GAMES XERUS-INAURIS PAGOPHILUS-GROENLANDICUS FERTILIZATION SUCCESS TESTIS SIZE HARP SEAL EVOLUTION COEVOLUTION MAMMALS Zoology |
spellingShingle |
genitalia sexual selection allometry polygynandry SPERM COMPETITION GAMES XERUS-INAURIS PAGOPHILUS-GROENLANDICUS FERTILIZATION SUCCESS TESTIS SIZE HARP SEAL EVOLUTION COEVOLUTION MAMMALS Zoology Structure and allometry of genitalia in males and females of a social African ground squirrel with high polygynandry |
topic_facet |
genitalia sexual selection allometry polygynandry SPERM COMPETITION GAMES XERUS-INAURIS PAGOPHILUS-GROENLANDICUS FERTILIZATION SUCCESS TESTIS SIZE HARP SEAL EVOLUTION COEVOLUTION MAMMALS Zoology |
description |
The few studies that have looked at genital allometry in mammals have typically shown a positively allometric relationship with body size and high coefficients of variation. Cryptic female choice, sexual conflict or sperm competition are mechanisms underlying genital evolution and as these are not mutually exclusive, they are often difficult to disentangle. In addition, these mechanisms are affected by both male and female social structure and/or mating strategies and, as such, pre- and post-copulatory behaviours have been shown to alter selection on genitalia. We examined genital traits and allometry in a polygynandrous and social ground squirrel Xerus inauris. We found that male testes are positively allometric and account for 1.5% of their body weight, one of the highest percentages known for sciurids. The penis, at 42.4% of head/body length, was isometric while the female reproductive tract, 22.4% head/body length, demonstrated no such relationship. Based on the allometric relationships of both males and females presented here, in conjunction with high levels of competition for females and lack of male aggression and territoriality, we suggest that sperm competition is the most likely mechanism for the evolution of the extremely large genitalia in this species. |
format |
Text |
title |
Structure and allometry of genitalia in males and females of a social African ground squirrel with high polygynandry |
title_short |
Structure and allometry of genitalia in males and females of a social African ground squirrel with high polygynandry |
title_full |
Structure and allometry of genitalia in males and females of a social African ground squirrel with high polygynandry |
title_fullStr |
Structure and allometry of genitalia in males and females of a social African ground squirrel with high polygynandry |
title_full_unstemmed |
Structure and allometry of genitalia in males and females of a social African ground squirrel with high polygynandry |
title_sort |
structure and allometry of genitalia in males and females of a social african ground squirrel with high polygynandry |
publisher |
STARS |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/facultybib2000/681 |
genre |
Harp Seal Pagophilus groenlandicus |
genre_facet |
Harp Seal Pagophilus groenlandicus |
op_source |
Faculty Bibliography 2000s |
op_relation |
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/facultybib2000/681 |
_version_ |
1766023438733934592 |