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Dryad

Data from: Sperm as a speciation phenotype in promiscuous songbirds

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Oct 23, 2024 version files 472.27 KB
Oct 28, 2024 version files 472.53 KB

Abstract

The paper compares 20 population pairs of Passerida songbirds and shows that their rate of divergence in sperm length was positively associated with the level of female promiscuity (expressed by the proportion of offspring sired by extrapair males). The effect was largely caused by a reduced population variance in sperm length in more promiscuous species. The paper suggests that rapid sperm length divergence can promote postcopulatory prezygotic isolation and hence rapid speciation in promiscuous songbirds.