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Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila
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Sperm competition in humans: mate guarding behavior negatively correlates with ejaculate quality.

Samantha Leivers1, Gillian Rhodes2, Leigh W Simmons1

  • 1Centre for Evolutionary Biology & School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.

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Men’s mating strategies involve trade-offs. Those who guarded mates less produced higher quality ejaculates, suggesting alternative paternity assurance tactics in humans.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Human Reproductive Behavior
  • Sexual Selection

Background:

  • Sperm competition occurs when females mate with multiple males, necessitating sperm to compete for fertilization.
  • Male reproductive strategies involve either avoiding sperm competition (mate guarding) or engaging in it (ejaculate investment).
  • The balance between these opposing tactics in males is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between mate guarding behavior and ejaculate quality in humans.
  • To determine if males adjust investment in mate guarding versus ejaculate quality.

Main Methods:

  • Empirical study using humans as the model species.
  • Quantified male mate guarding behaviors.
  • Assessed ejaculate quality, including sperm concentration, motility, and kinematics.

Main Results:

  • Men exhibiting fewer mate guarding behaviors produced ejaculates of higher quality.
  • Higher quality ejaculates were characterized by greater sperm concentration, increased sperm motility, and faster, less erratic sperm swimming.
  • These findings were independent of lifestyle or general male quality factors.

Conclusions:

  • Male expenditure on mate guarding and ejaculate quality represents a trade-off.
  • These tactics may serve as alternative strategies for ensuring paternity in humans.
  • Supports the hypothesis of flexible male reproductive strategies in response to sperm competition risk.