Quantity versus quality: the sperm war

The evolution of sperm traits manifests itself prolifically across species, and postcopulatory sexual selection (PSS), as executed by the female, accompanies this process. The adaptive significance of some sperm traits (for example, the shape and number of sperms) is well understood. However, the evolution of germ size has not been fully exploited. The most recent study by Liupold et al. 1 reveals that the evolution of longer sperm is driven by the female seminal receptacle and mating frequency in Drosophila, which, in turn, increases the benefits to females. These findings provide a comprehensive interpretation regarding the evolution of sperm size.