Abstract
Relationships between spermatozoal design and swimming behaviour were investigated using the significant natural variance in sperm traits in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar. In vitro motility and fertilization experiments were conducted with 86 Atlantic salmon to measure sperm form and function under natural fertilization conditions. Spermatozoal traits of Atlantic salmon showed narrow variance within individuals but differed extensively between samples: mean sperm length varied from 32·3 to 39·5 μm, mean velocity ranged from 18 to 127 μm s −1 , and ejaculate longevity varied from 18 to 78 s. In addition to variation in sperm morphometry between fish, a negative relationship was also found between sperm head length and flagellum length. This natural variation in sperm form and function between males is counter‐intuitive since measures are from a single Atlantic salmon population where all males are adapted to a common fertilization environment. No evidence was found that longer sperm, or sperm with longer flagella, achieved faster swimming velocities. Also no evidence was found for a trade‐off between mean sperm velocity and ejaculate longevity. There were significant negative associations, however, between sperm total and flagellum length and ejaculate longevity, so that males with longer sperm had shorter‐lived gametes. This finding has previously been reported in a study across fish species, supporting the theory that increased hydrostatic forces generated by longer flagella may trade against sperm cell longevity.