BackgroundUsing information from physics, biomechanics and evolutionary biology, we explore the implications of physical constraints on sperm performance, and review empirical evidence for links between sperm length and sperm competition (where two or more males compete to fertilise a female's eggs). A common theme in the literature on sperm competition is that selection for increased sperm performance in polyandrous species will favour the evolution of longer, and therefore faster swimming, sperm. This argument is based on the common assumption that sperm swimming velocity is directly related to sperm length, due to the increased thrust produced by longer flagella.ResultsWe critically evaluate the evidence for links between sperm morphology and swimming speed, and draw on cross-disciplinary studies to show that the assumption that velocity is directly related to sperm length will rarely be satisfied in the microscopic world in which sperm operate.ConclusionWe show that increased sperm length is unlikely to be driven by selection for increased swimming speed, and that the relative lengths of a sperm's constituent parts, rather than their absolute lengths, are likely to be the target of selection. All else being equal, we suggest that a simple measure of the ratio of head to tail length should be used to assess the possible link between morphology and speed. However, this is most likely to be the case for external fertilizers in which females have relatively limited opportunity to influence a sperm's motility.

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Nitrate and nitrite (NO x ) and phosphate (PO 4 ) dynamics over Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, are shown to depend on oceanographic forcing of coupled mass transfer limited (MTL) gross uptake and gross release from remineralized oceanic particulate organic matter (POM). Estimates of gross release rates increased significantly with increasing POM uptake and were of the same order as gross uptake rates. Gross uptake rates increased significantly with increasing oceanic concentrations and wave energy dissipation, were 35-80% higher over the reef crest (7-9 mmol NO x m 22 d 21 and 4-5 mmol PO 4 m 22 d 21 ), and were significantly correlated with independent estimates of POM-mediated gross NO x uptake, supporting both MTL uptake and the strong role of oceanic POM supply. The relative supply of NO x and POM was linked to the seasonal dynamics of a regional current system. In late spring, upwelling associated with seasonally strong equator-ward winds led to increased NO x concentrations (0. The autumn enhancement of oceanic POM supply to the reef can be attributed to a regional phytoplankton bloom associated with acceleration of the oligotrophic Leeuwin Current, which may result in a significant supply of dissolved nutrients to downstream communities.

Collisions between particles or between particles and other objects are fundamental to many processes that we take for granted. They drive the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, the onset of rain and snow precipitation, and the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, powders and crystals. Here, I show that the traditional assumption that viscosity dominates these situations leads to consistent and largescale underestimation of encounter rates between particles and of deposition rates on surfaces. Numerical simulations reveal that the encounter rate is Reynolds number dependent and that encounter efficiencies are consistent with the sparse experimental data. This extension of aerosol theory has great implications for understanding of selection pressure on the physiology and ecology of organisms, for example filter feeders able to gather food at rates up to 5 times higher than expected. I provide evidence that filter feeders have been strongly selected to take advantage of this flow regime and show that both the predicted peak concentration and the steady-state concentrations of plankton during blooms are Ϸ33% of that predicted by the current models of particle encounter. Many ecological and industrial processes may be operating at substantially greater rates than currently assumed.biological fluid dynamics ͉ coagulation ͉ phytoplankton ͉ suspension feeding