Austin D, Dewsbury D A
Physiol Behav. 1986;37(4):627-32. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(86)90297-0.
The purpose of this research was to investigate the reproductive capacity (i.e., the ability to successfully transfer an ejaculate and induce a progestational response in the female) of male laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus). Males were individually mated to successive females in a single session for one ejaculatory series each. There was a marked decline in both the total number of sperm per ejaculate and the number of sperm transported to the uterus with repeated ejaculations. Dimensions of the copulatory plug of the male decreased over successive ejaculations, reflecting a diminished output of the secretions of the reproductive accessory glands. Male copulatory behavior changed over successive ejaculations. Actual fertility appeared somewhat diminished in late ejaculatory series. Such constraints on the reproductive capacity of the male may have implications for the mating strategy employed by wild males in the field.
本研究的目的是调查雄性实验大鼠（褐家鼠）的生殖能力（即成功输送精液并在雌性中诱导孕激素反应的能力）。雄性大鼠在单次实验中与连续的雌性大鼠单独交配，每次交配一个射精系列。随着射精次数的增加，每次射精的精子总数和输送到子宫的精子数量均显著下降。雄性大鼠交配栓的尺寸随着射精次数的增加而减小，这反映了生殖附属腺分泌物的分泌量减少。雄性大鼠的交配行为随着射精次数的增加而发生变化。在后期射精系列中，实际生育能力似乎有所下降。雄性生殖能力的这些限制可能对野外野生雄性大鼠采用的交配策略有影响。
