Why so many sperm cells? Not only a possible means of mitigating the hazards inherent to human reproduction but also an indicator of an exaptation
Redundancy—the excess of supply over necessity—has recently been proposed for human sperm cells. However, the apparent superfluity of cell numbers may be necessary in order to circumvent the hazards, many of which can be quantified, that can occur during the transition from gametogenesis within the...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2016-07-01
|
| Series: | Communicative & Integrative Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2016.1204499 |
| id |
doaj-9cdd314667664203bcb37d389a6cc6ff |
|---|---|
| record_format |
Article |
| spelling |
doaj-9cdd314667664203bcb37d389a6cc6ff2021-03-02T10:18:24ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCommunicative & Integrative Biology1942-08892016-07-019410.1080/19420889.2016.12044991204499Why so many sperm cells? Not only a possible means of mitigating the hazards inherent to human reproduction but also an indicator of an exaptationPeter W. Barlow0School of Biological Sciences, University of BristolRedundancy—the excess of supply over necessity—has recently been proposed for human sperm cells. However, the apparent superfluity of cell numbers may be necessary in order to circumvent the hazards, many of which can be quantified, that can occur during the transition from gametogenesis within the testes to zygosis within the female reproductive tract. Sperm cell numbers are directly related to testicular volume, and it is owing to a redundancy, and the possible exaptation, of this latter parameter that a putative excess of sperm cells is perceived.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2016.1204499exaptationhuman reproductionsperm cell numberstestis volume |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
Peter W. Barlow |
| spellingShingle |
Peter W. Barlow Why so many sperm cells? Not only a possible means of mitigating the hazards inherent to human reproduction but also an indicator of an exaptation Communicative & Integrative Biology exaptation human reproduction sperm cell numbers testis volume |
| author_facet |
Peter W. Barlow |
| author_sort |
Peter W. Barlow |
| title |
Why so many sperm cells? Not only a possible means of mitigating the hazards inherent to human reproduction but also an indicator of an exaptation |
| title_short |
Why so many sperm cells? Not only a possible means of mitigating the hazards inherent to human reproduction but also an indicator of an exaptation |
| title_full |
Why so many sperm cells? Not only a possible means of mitigating the hazards inherent to human reproduction but also an indicator of an exaptation |
| title_fullStr |
Why so many sperm cells? Not only a possible means of mitigating the hazards inherent to human reproduction but also an indicator of an exaptation |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Why so many sperm cells? Not only a possible means of mitigating the hazards inherent to human reproduction but also an indicator of an exaptation |
| title_sort |
why so many sperm cells? not only a possible means of mitigating the hazards inherent to human reproduction but also an indicator of an exaptation |
| publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
| series |
Communicative & Integrative Biology |
| issn |
1942-0889 |
| publishDate |
2016-07-01 |
| description |
Redundancy—the excess of supply over necessity—has recently been proposed for human sperm cells. However, the apparent superfluity of cell numbers may be necessary in order to circumvent the hazards, many of which can be quantified, that can occur during the transition from gametogenesis within the testes to zygosis within the female reproductive tract. Sperm cell numbers are directly related to testicular volume, and it is owing to a redundancy, and the possible exaptation, of this latter parameter that a putative excess of sperm cells is perceived. |
| topic |
exaptation human reproduction sperm cell numbers testis volume |
| url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2016.1204499 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT peterwbarlow whysomanyspermcellsnotonlyapossiblemeansofmitigatingthehazardsinherenttohumanreproductionbutalsoanindicatorofanexaptation |
| _version_ |
1724237181812211712 |