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Breeding system, shell size and age at sexual maturity affect sperm length in stylommatophoran gastropods

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Ecology and Evolution, April 2016
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Title
Breeding system, shell size and age at sexual maturity affect sperm length in stylommatophoran gastropods
Published in
BMC Ecology and Evolution, April 2016
DOI 10.1186/s12862-016-0661-9
Pubmed ID
Authors

Dénes Schmera, Julia Pizá, Ellen Reinartz, Sylvain Ursenbacher, Bruno Baur

Abstract

Sperm size and quality are key factors for fertilization success. There is increasing empirical evidence demonstrating that sperm form and function are influenced by selective pressures. Theoretical models predict that sperm competition could favour the evolution of longer sperm. In hermaphrodites, self-fertilizing species are expected to have shorter sperm than cross-fertilizing species, which use sperm stored from several mating partners for the fertilization of their eggs and thus are exposed to intense sperm competition. We tested this hypothesis by comparing original data on sperm length in 57 species of simultaneously hermaphroditic stylommatophoran gastropods from Europe and South America with respect to the species' breeding system. We used 28S rRNA nuclear and COI mitochondrial sequence data to construct a molecular phylogeny. Phylogenetic generalized linear models were applied to examine the potential influence of morphological and life-history characters. The best-fit model revealed that the breeding system and age at sexual maturity influence sperm length in gastropods. In general, species with predominant cross-fertilization had longer sperm than species with predominant self-fertilization or a mixed breeding system. Across species with shells (snails), sperm length also increased with shell size. Our study provides evidence that sperm length in stylommatophoran gastropods is influenced by the risk of sperm competition, as well as by age at sexual maturity and shell size. This finding extends present knowledge of sperm evolution to a group of so far poorly studied simultaneous hermaphrodites.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 28 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 28 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 8 29%
Student > Bachelor 6 21%
Professor 3 11%
Student > Doctoral Student 1 4%
Lecturer 1 4%
Other 4 14%
Unknown 5 18%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 13 46%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 5 18%
Earth and Planetary Sciences 2 7%
Environmental Science 1 4%
Unknown 7 25%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 04 May 2016.
All research outputs
#15,168,167
of 25,371,288 outputs
Outputs from BMC Ecology and Evolution
#2,554
of 3,714 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#158,052
of 312,751 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Ecology and Evolution
#51
of 73 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,371,288 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 38th percentile – i.e., 38% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,714 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 12.5. This one is in the 29th percentile – i.e., 29% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 312,751 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 47th percentile – i.e., 47% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 73 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 28th percentile – i.e., 28% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.