Method matters: Experimental evidence for shorter avian sperm in faecal compared to abdominal massage samples.
Birds are model organisms in sperm biology. Previous work in zebra finches, suggested that sperm sampled from males' faeces and ejaculates do not differ in size. Here, we tested this assumption in a captive population of house sparrows, Passer domesticus. We compared sperm length in samples fro...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2017-01-01
|
Series: | PLoS ONE |
Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5559096?pdf=render |
id |
doaj-2536495f279547ccb48e8e8e946e6812 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-2536495f279547ccb48e8e8e946e68122020-11-25T02:10:30ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01128e018285310.1371/journal.pone.0182853Method matters: Experimental evidence for shorter avian sperm in faecal compared to abdominal massage samples.Antje GirndtGlenn CockburnAlfredo Sánchez-TójarHanne LøvlieJulia SchroederBirds are model organisms in sperm biology. Previous work in zebra finches, suggested that sperm sampled from males' faeces and ejaculates do not differ in size. Here, we tested this assumption in a captive population of house sparrows, Passer domesticus. We compared sperm length in samples from three collection techniques: female dummy, faecal and abdominal massage samples. We found that sperm were significantly shorter in faecal than abdominal massage samples, which was explained by shorter heads and midpieces, but not flagella. This result might indicate that faecal sampled sperm could be less mature than sperm collected by abdominal massage. The female dummy method resulted in an insufficient number of experimental ejaculates because most males ignored it. In light of these results, we recommend using abdominal massage as a preferred method for avian sperm sampling. Where avian sperm cannot be collected by abdominal massage alone, we advise controlling for sperm sampling protocol statistically.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5559096?pdf=render |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Antje Girndt Glenn Cockburn Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar Hanne Løvlie Julia Schroeder |
spellingShingle |
Antje Girndt Glenn Cockburn Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar Hanne Løvlie Julia Schroeder Method matters: Experimental evidence for shorter avian sperm in faecal compared to abdominal massage samples. PLoS ONE |
author_facet |
Antje Girndt Glenn Cockburn Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar Hanne Løvlie Julia Schroeder |
author_sort |
Antje Girndt |
title |
Method matters: Experimental evidence for shorter avian sperm in faecal compared to abdominal massage samples. |
title_short |
Method matters: Experimental evidence for shorter avian sperm in faecal compared to abdominal massage samples. |
title_full |
Method matters: Experimental evidence for shorter avian sperm in faecal compared to abdominal massage samples. |
title_fullStr |
Method matters: Experimental evidence for shorter avian sperm in faecal compared to abdominal massage samples. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Method matters: Experimental evidence for shorter avian sperm in faecal compared to abdominal massage samples. |
title_sort |
method matters: experimental evidence for shorter avian sperm in faecal compared to abdominal massage samples. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
series |
PLoS ONE |
issn |
1932-6203 |
publishDate |
2017-01-01 |
description |
Birds are model organisms in sperm biology. Previous work in zebra finches, suggested that sperm sampled from males' faeces and ejaculates do not differ in size. Here, we tested this assumption in a captive population of house sparrows, Passer domesticus. We compared sperm length in samples from three collection techniques: female dummy, faecal and abdominal massage samples. We found that sperm were significantly shorter in faecal than abdominal massage samples, which was explained by shorter heads and midpieces, but not flagella. This result might indicate that faecal sampled sperm could be less mature than sperm collected by abdominal massage. The female dummy method resulted in an insufficient number of experimental ejaculates because most males ignored it. In light of these results, we recommend using abdominal massage as a preferred method for avian sperm sampling. Where avian sperm cannot be collected by abdominal massage alone, we advise controlling for sperm sampling protocol statistically. |
url |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5559096?pdf=render |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT antjegirndt methodmattersexperimentalevidenceforshorteraviansperminfaecalcomparedtoabdominalmassagesamples AT glenncockburn methodmattersexperimentalevidenceforshorteraviansperminfaecalcomparedtoabdominalmassagesamples AT alfredosancheztojar methodmattersexperimentalevidenceforshorteraviansperminfaecalcomparedtoabdominalmassagesamples AT hanneløvlie methodmattersexperimentalevidenceforshorteraviansperminfaecalcomparedtoabdominalmassagesamples AT juliaschroeder methodmattersexperimentalevidenceforshorteraviansperminfaecalcomparedtoabdominalmassagesamples |
_version_ |
1724919364175527936 |