Question

When females mate with multiple males, what happens to the sperm from the different males?

1) They compete for opportunities to fertilize the females' eggs
2) They combine to form a hybrid sperm
3) They are destroyed by the female's reproductive system
4) They remain dormant inside the female's body

Answer 1

When females mate with multiple males, the sperm from different males compete for opportunities to fertilize the female's eggs.

Step-by-step explanation:

When females mate with multiple males, the sperm from the different males compete for opportunities to fertilize the female's eggs. This competition occurs within the female reproductive tract, where conditions such as acidity of the vagina, mucus in the cervix, and phagocytic leukocytes in the uterus reduce the number of sperm that reach the oocyte. The surviving sperm undergo capacitation, which improves their motility and prepares them for attachment and penetration of the oocyte.