Behavioural and seminalcharacteristics of Santa Inesrams subjected to successivesemen collections in theAmazonian region

摘要

The objective of this study was to evaluatethe reproductive performance of Santa Inesrams subjected to successive semen collectionsin an Amazonian climate. Four ramswere subjected to successive ejaculations duringa maximum period of three hours. Thisprocedure was repeated three times at 15-dayintervals. Sexual and behavioural (libido) andandrological (testicular and seminal) assessmentswere performed. A total of 81 ejaculateswere collected. Libido and semen vigour, volume,appearance and concentration decreasedas the ejaculation frequency increased(P<0.05) and sperm motility showed adecreasing trend (P=0.06). The seminal pHincreased over the sequence of collections(P<0.05). The only significant differencesobserved between individual rams were thevariable scrotal circumference and the percentagesof live sperm and sperm abnormalities(P<0.05). All the parameters of the firstejaculation were within the normal range forthis species, which suggests that the local climaticconditions (high temperature andhumidity) did not affect the behavioural, testicularor seminal parameters of experimentalrams. Our findings indicate that the reproductiveperformance of Santa Ines rams could beaffected by the intensification of ejaculationfrequency; however, individual male variationneeds to be taken into consideration.