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Multiple paternity and individual variation in sperm precedence in the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snail Arianta arbustorum

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Abstract

Intraspecific variation in the proportion of offspring sired by the second mate with a female (P2) is an aspect of sperm competition that has received little attention. I examined the effects of delay between copulations (range 9–380 days) and size of sperm donor on sperm precedence in double-mated individuals of the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snail Arianta arbustorum. Using shell colour as a genetic marker, paternity was analysed in 132 broods produced by 35 snails that had mated with two partners of different genotype. Sperm precedence (P2) was influenced by the time between the two matings when the mating delay exceeded 70 days (one reproductive season). P2 averaged 0.34 in the first brood of snails that mated twice within 70 days indicating first mate sperm precedence. In contrast, P2 averaged 0.76 in broods of snails that remated in the following season, indicating a decreased viability of sperm from the first mate. The size of sperm-donating individuals had no effect on the fertilization success of their sperm in the first brood produced after the second copulation. Analysis of long-term sperm utilization in 23 snails that laid three to nine egg batches over 2 years revealed striking differences among individuals. Five snails (21.7%) exhibited first-mate sperm precedence throughout, eight snails (34.8%) showed second-mate sperm precedence throughout, whereas ten snails (43.5%) exhibited sperm mixing in successive batches. It is suggested that the individual variation in sperm precedence in A. arbustorum may partly be due to differences in the amount of sperm transferred. Paternity analysis in 34 batches laid by 19 wild-caught individuals of A. arbustorum indicated that at least 12 snails (63.2%) used sperm from two or more mates for the fertilization of their eggs. This suggests a high incidence of multiple paternity in broods of A. arbustorum under field conditions.

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  1. Bruno Baurl

    Present address: Conservation Biology Research Group (NLU), University of Basel, St. Johanns-Vorstadt 10, CH-4056, Basel, Switzerland

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  1. Institute of Zoology, University of Basel, Rheinsprung 9, CH - 4051, Basel, Switzerland

    Bruno Baurl

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Communicated by M.A. Elgar

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Baurl, B. Multiple paternity and individual variation in sperm precedence in the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snail Arianta arbustorum . Behav Ecol Sociobiol 35, 413–421 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00165844

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00165844

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