Abstract Marine and freshwater spawning environments present fish sperm with unique challenges, but for both, gametes often signal prior to contact via biochemical interactions through maternally-derived compounds (i.e. eggs and ovarian fluid; OF). For example, when OF is incorporated into the fertilization environment, sperm have been observed to exhibit changes in swimming trajectories (e.g. motility and velocity), yet it remains unclear whether the presence of this OF consistently improves sperm performance. The objectives of this study were to determine the overall effect of OF on sperm performance using meta-analysis. Published literature was searched for studies comparing sperm motility and/or velocity in the presence and absence of OF. For each study, the log response ratios (lnRR) was calculated, in which positive values indicate improved performance in the presence of OF. For motility, the overall effect size was non-significant (lnRR = 0.09, CL = −0.06, 0.24), whereas velocity was positively affected by OF (lnRR = 0.10; CL = 0.04, 0.17). When segregated by environment, for freshwater species there was a significant positive effect of the OF on velocity (lnRR = 0.18, CL = 0.07, 0.29), which translated to an increase in velocity of 20%. In contrast, no effect was detected for velocity in marine species (lnRR = −0.01, CL = −0.02, 0.01). Overall, there is evidence that OF improves sperm performance, although spawning environment and/or taxonomic factors are likely to moderate these sperm-OF interactions. Together, these results further our understanding of natural reproductive processes governing sperm performance, mating systems, and fertilization dynamics.

中文翻译：

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海洋和淡水硬骨鱼卵巢液和精子游泳轨迹之间的关联：元分析

摘要 海洋和淡水产卵环境给鱼类精子带来了独特的挑战，但对于两者而言，配子通常在接触前通过母源化合物（即卵子和卵巢液；OF）通过生化相互作用发出信号。例如，当 OF 结合到受精环境中时，已经观察到精子会表现出游泳轨迹（例如运动性和速度）的变化，但仍不清楚这种 OF 的存在是否会持续提高精子的性能。本研究的目的是使用荟萃分析确定 OF 对精子性能的总体影响。检索已发表的文献，以寻找在存在和不存在 OF 的情况下比较精子活力和/或速度的研究。对于每项研究，计算对数反应比 (lnRR)，其中正值表示存在 OF 时性能提高。对于运动性，总体效应大小不显着（lnRR = 0.09，CL = -0.06, 0.24），而速度受到 OF 的积极影响（lnRR = 0.10；CL = 0.04, 0.17）。当按环境分离时，对于淡水物种，OF 对速度有显着的积极影响 (lnRR = 0.18, CL = 0.07, 0.29)，这意味着速度增加了 20%。相比之下，没有检测到对海洋物种速度的影响（lnRR = -0.01，CL = -0.02，0.01）。总体而言，有证据表明 OF 提高了精子的性能，尽管产卵环境和/或分类因素可能会缓和这些精子与 OF 的相互作用。总之，这些结果进一步加深了我们对控制精子性能、交配系统、