Sperm competition reduces fertilisation success in two sea urchin species - does this apply to other marine external fertilisers?
This is a suggestion for a Degree Project for Bachelor's and Master's levels at the Department of Marine Sciences. Degree projects at the Department of Marine Sciences are done independently and must be written and assessed individually.
Subject: Marine Biology
Level: Master's or Bachelor's
Supervisors: Luisa Kumpitsch and Erica Leder
Project Background
External fertilisers are marine organisms that release their gametes freely to the water column, where fertilisation occurs (e.g. blue mussels, sea urchins).
In our previous experiments, we found that fertilisation success in two sea urchin species is low in a sperm competition (= sperm from more than one male compete for the eggs) scenario compared to a non-competitive scenario. This is highly relevant, as cells exposed to the ocean environment are prone to any environmental factor surrounding it, which is especially detrimental in early life stages.
Project Description
Fertilisation success experiments in an external fertiliser of your choice. You will test how many eggs are fertilised in a competitive vs. non-competetive scenario. Additionally, you can measure sperm motility. As males might affect each other’s sperm motility, you could test how males’ sperm performs in its own vs. other males’ sperm effluent, for instance.
You can also test the effects of global change scenarios, i.e. ocean acidification, temperature and/or salinity, on the fertilisation of marine external fertilisers.
Contact
Erica Leder
Email: erica.leder@gu.se