Sperm Morphology, Seminal Parameters And Testosterone Serum Concentration Of Fallow Deer Dama Dama In Captivity

SESTELO, A.; LOMBARDO, DM.; RIVOLTA, M.; CORDOBA, M.

Tandil. Buenos Aires. argentina

Jornada; Primeras Jornadas de Ciencias Morfológicas de las Sierras de Tandil. Universidad del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNCPBA).; 2011

Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires.

The present study is included in a conservation project for Neothropical endangered Cervids. Reproductive seasonality is a common strategy in deer in order to synchronize parturitions. It?s important to consider those changes in male reproductive physiology in order to improve the optimal moment to obtain and storage deer sperm in genetic resources banks. The fallow deer Dama dama was used as a biological model. The aim of this section of the project was to study the concentration of testosterone, the seasonally deer semen quality during the post-brama and brama, and sperm morphology prior to cryopreservation of semen. The seminal material was obtained by electroejaculation, free testosterone was determined by the method of calculation from RIA and SHBG and total testosterone was obtained by the chemiluminescence method (682.75 ± 380.80 pmol/l; 3.59 ± 3.15 ng/ml in brama period and 104.60 ± 106.63 pml/l; 0.37 ± 0.50 ng/ml in post-brama period, respectively). The mean total sperm number per ejaculate were 527.49 ± 538.06 x106 esp and 10.86 ± 17.52 x106 esp, brama and post-brama respectively, with a sperm motility percentage of 81.66 ± 16.81% and 45.00 ± 42.23% respectively. The average size of the sperm head of fallow deer was long 12.10 ± 0.31 μm and wide was 6.87 ± 0.12 μm. This study contributes to understand seasonally sperm quality and hormone variation, allowing to advance with the development of reproductive biotechnologies as a conservation strategy for threatened species of the Cervidae family.