Artificial insemination

Ejaculates were collected from a beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) to gain an understanding of sperm biology and develop a short-term sperm preservation method for use in artificial insemination (AI). Ejaculate parameters and biochemistry, semen production and serum testosterone concentrations of an adult male were characterised for 21 months. Sperm viability, acrosome integrity and morphology did not change (P > 0.05) but ejaculate volume, sperm concentration and total spermatozoa per ejaculate were higher (P < 0.05) from January to June than from July to December. Peak testosterone concentrations (P < 0.05) were observed from October to April (8.0 +/- 1.6 ng mL(-1)). The effects of hyaluronic acid (HA), antioxidants, storage temperature and time on in vitro sperm characteristics were examined. Motility parameters and viability were improved (P < 0.05) when semen was stored at 5 degrees C compared with 21 degrees C. During the first 24 h of storage sperm agglutination was ...

Organic farming principles give rise to multifunctionality: different activities are combined at farm level to create ecological and economic synergies. These principles do however allow for different operationalisations and different farm development strategies, for example with regard to the use of external inputs or the decision whether or not to use advanced breeding technologies such as artificial insemination. Maintaining and improving diversity are therefore characteristic to organic farming. Since organic farming took off in the early 1990 s, many specialised dairy farms which tend to be more mono-functional in nature, have converted to organic, adding a new farming strategy to the diverse collection of farming strategies in organic dairy farming. All these farming strategies actually create different organic production environments for cows, which might result in different demands on selective breeding and breeding technology. This differential demand was explored in a survey, among 151 organic dairy farmers, on general farm strategy, milk production, breeding goal, choice of breed and approach to reproduction. Farmers were divided into one of two groups on each of three strategic options: a) diversification in farm business—Specialised Dairy Farming vs. Multifunctional Farming; b) intensity of milk production—Low Input vs. High Input Farming and c) naturalness of breeding—Farming with Artificial Insemination vs. Farming with Natural Service.A pair-wise comparison within each strategic option showed that each pair differed significantly with regard to farm characteristics, farm goal and animal production goals. However, there were only minor or no significant differences within each pair with regard to overall breeding goal. For each strategic option, big differences were found within each pair as regards preferred cattle breeds and crossbreeds. Farmers in the Specialised Dairy Farming and High Input Farming groups preferred milk-type cattle (Holstein and Holstein crossbreeds), while farmers in the Multifunctional Farming and Low Input Farming groups preferred various native Dutch breeds. But even farmers with a similar strategy (within one group) differed strongly in their choice of breeds and crossbreeds. These results indicate that organic farmers are going through process of learning by doing, experimenting as they search for breeds or crossbreeds that are optimally suited to their farm environment and that best agree with their farm development strategy. In this, the growing preference for keeping bulls on the farm for natural service is remarkable.

The implications of collecting semen from elephants for use in artificial insemination programs are profound in the context of propagating captive elephants. Using a manual manipulation technique, semen was collected and characterized from five adult Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and ejaculate fluid was obtained from one castrated elephant bull. The penis was stimulated to protrusion and erection by rectal massage