DOI: 10.5061/dryad.mf587
title: Data from: A nonsemen copulatory fluid influences the outcome of sperm competition in Japanese quail.

description: Sperm competition is a powerful and widespread evolutionary force that
 drives the divergence of behavioral, physiological, and morphological
 traits. Elucidating the mechanisms governing differential fertilization
 success is a fundamental question of sperm competition. Both sperm and
 non-sperm ejaculate components can influence sperm competition outcomes.
 Here, we investigate the role of a non-semen copulatory fluid in sperm
 competition. Male Japanese quail possess a gland that makes meringue-like
 foam. Males produce and store foam independent of sperm and seminal fluid,
 yet transfer foam to females during copulation. We tested whether foam
 influenced the outcome of sperm competition by varying foam state and
 mating order in competitive matings. We found that the presence of foam
 from one male decreased the relative fertilization success of a rival, and
 that foam from a given male increased the probability he obtained any
 fertilizations. Mating order also affected competitive success. Males
 mated first fertilized proportionally more eggs in a clutch and had more
 matings with any fertilizations than subsequent males. We conclude that
 the function of foam in sperm competition is mediated through the positive
 interaction of foam with a male’s sperm, and we speculate whether the
 benefit is achieved through improving sperm storage, fertilizing
 efficiency, or retention. Our results suggest males can evolve complex
 strategies to gain fertilizations at the expense of rivals as foam, a
 copulatory fluid not required for fertilization, nevertheless has
 important effects on reproductive performance under competition.
description: Role of foam in sperm
 competition datasetCompetitive reproductive
 performance in terms of number of fertilized eggs of a pair of males
 (manipulated and non-manipulated) mated to the same females. Males may
 (manipulated, sometimes) or may not (non-manipulated) have had their foam
 complements removed prior to mating. Mating order and foam complements
 were varied. Abbreviations as follows: Male_Pair: the id of the male pair;
 Group: trial sets for two different groups; Male_Pair_Full: a combination
 of male pair id and group; Manip_ID: id of the manipulated male, who may
 or may not have had his foam removed; NonManip_ID: id of the
 non-manipulated male, whose foam was never removed; Female_ID: id of the
 mated female; Manip_Posit; mating positior of the manipulated male, either
 first (1) or second (2); Foam_Manip: whether or not the manipulated
 male's foam was removed (absent) or not (present);
 Number_NonManip_Fert: number of eggs fertilized from the non-manipulated
 male; Number_Manip_Fert: number of eggs fertilized by the manipulated
 male; Total_Fert: total number of eggs fertilized for a given trial;
 NonManip_AnyFert: whether or not the non-manipulated male fertilized any
 eggs (1) or none (0); Manip_AnyFert: whether or not the manipulated male
 fertilized any eggs (1) or none (0); Manip_LastDayFert: the last day a
 manipulated male fertilized any eggs; Mixed: whether or not their was
 mixed paternity for a given matingDataForDryad_27Apr13.csv