Climate change alters the rules of sperm competition in the sea
The impact of climate change on global seawater conditions could change the rules of sperm competition for many important marine species, a pioneering new study has shown.
Researchers from the University of Exeter have shown that increasing ocean acidification, brought about by manmade carbon emissions, reduces sperm performance in a species of sea urchin, slowing down sperm in future ocean conditions. Interestingly, they found that different males were affected to different extents and that this could change the outcome when rival male ejaculates competed to fertilise a batch of eggs in the sea. (more…)