Abstract
BackgroundFollowing the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, large amounts of radionuclides were emitted and spread in the environment. Animals living in such contaminated areas are predicted to suffer fitness costs including reductions in the quality and quantity of gametes.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe studied whether aspermy and sperm quality were affected by radioactive contamination by examining ejaculates from wild caught birds breeding in areas varying in background radiation level by more than three orders of magnitude around Chernobyl, Ukraine. The frequency of males with aspermy increased logarithmically with radiation level. While 18.4% of males from contaminated areas had no sperm that was only the case for 3.0% of males from uncontaminated control areas. Furthermore, there were negative relationships between sperm quality as reflected by reduced sperm velocity and motility, respectively, and radiation.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results suggest that radioactive contamination around Chernobyl affects sperm production and quality. We are the first to report an interspecific difference in sperm quality in relation to radioactive contamination.
Highlights
The primary function of sperm is to ensure fertility and enhance paternity, and strong selection acts on both qualitative and quantitative sperm traits [1]
Conclusions/Significance: Our results suggest that radioactive contamination around Chernobyl affects sperm production and quality
It is clear that the production of high-quality ejaculates may represent significant costs of reproduction for males [10,11,12,13], and that sperm quality and production are related to several factors [14,15,16,17], including external factors [18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25]
Summary
The primary function of sperm is to ensure fertility and enhance paternity, and strong selection acts on both qualitative and quantitative sperm traits [1]. It is clear that the production of high-quality ejaculates may represent significant costs of reproduction for males [10,11,12,13], and that sperm quality and production are related to several factors [14,15,16,17], including external factors [18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25]. Following the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986, large quantities of radionuclides were emitted and spread in the environment. Following the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, large amounts of radionuclides were emitted and spread in the environment. Animals living in such contaminated areas are predicted to suffer fitness costs including reductions in the quality and quantity of gametes
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