In the presence of rivals, males allocate less ejaculate per mating in Japanese pygmy squid with female sperm rejection

When mating is promiscuous, the ejaculate volume allocated to each female is expected (intuitively) to be linked with the presence and number of rival males. Previous theories have indicated that, in the absence of rival males, males will allocate the minimum ejaculate volume sufficient for fertilization of all available oocytes. However, it is unclear if this ejaculation strategy is still effective where females have a mechanism to remove sperm after copulation (‘female sperm rejection’). In the Japanese pygmy squid, Idiosepius paradoxus, female sperm rejection was observed to occur frequently, but males were able to increase the remaining sperm volume available for fertilization, suggesting that there is no significant impact of female sperm rejection on male ejaculation strategy. However, males decreased ejaculate volume in the presence of rival males and increased it in their absence, a pattern counterintuitive to predictions from previous theories. Females reject sperm at every copulation, so, after copulation, the amount of a given male’s sperm remaining with the female may decrease after each subsequent rival copulates with the female. Perhaps in this species the presence of rivals signals the risk of further sperm rejection, so males choose to conserve their resources and move on.