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The author discusses the effectiveness of breeding program on domesticated animals in response to the preservation on wild life worldwide. He emphasizes that the survival of most endangered species and animals are already critical not only in the country as will as worldwide. He offers various techniques on how to preserve wild life animals such as frozen semen, artificial insemination, superovulation, and embryo transplant. He presents few of the endangered animals that need preservation including Tasmanian wolf, Aribian oryx, Philippine eagle, and Sumatran rhinoceros. He added, that by using the technique, it develop a better breeding program for the preservation of the endangered wild life.

Biodiversity is the basic indicator, which expresses the durability and stability zone in direct relationship with the environment and life. Biodiversity monitoring both quantitatively and qualitatively puts us in contact with reality environment and its stability, because biodiversity is constantly changing. Only by measuring the biodiversity we can perceive the sudden chances, which influence directly our life in order to interfere with redesigning the media by ecological reconstruction. The application of biotechnologies to buffalo breeding is paramount to remedy the existing situation. The most numerous Romanian buffalos are the Carpathian type, with valuable gene resource, well adapted to the cold climate for buffalo. Results of artificial insemination in this species are influenced by the quality of semen used. We know that there are periods in which sperm are immobile, so it is important to test the ability of sperm fertilized. This test can be performed in vitro using direct or indirect methods. Utilization of Polamski scale principle remains present, but can be improve and combine with Milovanov resistance and "in vitro" capacitating methods. For determination of fertilizing power we use "in vitro" capacitation methods: direct method, indirect method and "swim-up" technique who are obligatory in E.U. We use this tests because Polamski scale can't be applied, knowing that an immobility of buffalo semen in some conditions is a characteristic of this semen, semen that can be recovery on the normal parameters. Milovanov resistance test have restricted efficiency because NaCl solution have a negative effect over the sperms. Semen charges testing with these new methods they present a good fertilizing power. This test is easier to realize and takes of decision is faster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical and paraclinical investigations (morpho-pathologic, bacterioscopic, bacteriologic and sensitiveness test to antibodies) done on 20 fish (rainbow trout), dead or in agony state, taken from a furunculosis pesthole in Salmonidae and proceeded from an intensive exploitation unit of trout, in Cluj county, put in evidence the following aspects :To clinical exam, in breeding basins, it appears individuals (5 %) which have presented locomotor troubles, listless and untidy swimming in water surface, lateral swimming anorexia, and on tegument it is observed diffuse hemorrhagic zones, lost of fish scale and necrosis of fins. It appears also secondary infections with fungi of Saprolegnia genus under the form of a white- dirty, downy film. From the 20 trut corpses were isolated 2 bacterial strains, from anterior kidney and from raclage in fin basis, with congestive lesions. Bacteria isolated are developing only after an incubation at 20 - 25° C and does not grow up to 37° C, and to microscopic exam directly from sauce, the mobility is absent Classic biochemical tests put in evidence the following positive biochemic properties: cataloze, oxidaze, indolal and the presence of hemolytic activity. Biochemical properties testing on API20E gallery also puts in evidence properties as : positive gelatinousis and sucraze fermentation. Based on bacterial strains development isolated only to 20 - 25 °C and the above mentioned biochemic properties, respectively the absence of pigment, bacterial strains isolated are appointed in Aeromonas genus, Aeromonas salmonicida species, achromogenes subspecies. By sensitiveness test in different medicine substances, using antibiogram technique, bacterial strains isolated from pesthole are sensitive in a decreasing order to: nalidixic acid, oxitetracycline, florfenicol and eurofloxacin and resistant to ampicyline, amoxiclav and colistin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examines the application of an artificial insemination approach in the early embryonic development of the mangrove sesarmid crab Perisesarma bidens. For the study, researchers analyzed crabs in nature exhibiting courtship behaviors at the Manko mangrove swamp in Okinawa Island, Japan. Researchers removed the sperms from the spermatheca of the similar female and diluted them in 80 percent filtered sea water (FSW). Findings suggest that the crab fertilization is of the moderately internal kind that happens in the abdominal cavity or flaps.

A very large majority of farm animals express seasonal variations in their production traits, thus inducing seasonal availability of fresh derived animal products (meat, milk, cheese and eggs). This pattern is in part the consequence of the farmer's objective to market his products in the most economically favourable period. It may also be imposed by the season-dependent access to feed resources, as in ruminants, or by the specific requirements derived from adaptation to environmental conditions such as water temperature in fish. But seasonal variations in animal products are also the consequence of constraints resulting from the occurrence of a more or less marked seasonal reproductive season in most farm animal species including fish, poultry and mammals. Like their wild counterparts, at mid and high latitudes, most farm animals normally give birth at the end of winter-early spring, the most favourable period for the progeny to survive and thus promote the next generation. As a consequence, most species show seasonal variations in their ovulation frequency (mammals and fish: presence or absence of ovulation; birds: variations or suppression of laying rates), spermatogenic activity (from moderate to complete absence of sperm production), gamete quality (variations in fertilisation rates and embryo survival), and also sexual behaviour. Among species of interest for animal production, fishes and birds are generally considered as more directly sensitive to external factors (mainly temperature in fish, photoperiod in birds). In all species, it is therefore advisable that artificial photoperiodic treatments consisting of extra-light during natural short days (in chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl, sheep and goats) or melatonin during long days (in goats, sheep) be extensively used to either adjust the breeding season to animal producer needs and/or to completely overcome seasonal variations of sperm production in artificial insemination centres (mammals) and breeder flock operations (poultry, fish farming). Pure light treatments (without melatonin), especially when applied in open barns, could be considered as non invasive ones which fully respect animal welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elephants have the longest pregnancy of all mammals, with an average gestation of around 660 days, so their embryonic and foetal development have always been of special interest. Hitherto, it has only been possible to estimate foetal ages from theoretical calculations based on foetal mass. The recent development of sophisticated ultrasound procedures for elephants has now made it possible to monitor the growth and development of foetuses of known gestational age conceived in captivity from natural matings or artificial insemination. We have studied the early stages of pregnancy in 10 captive Asian and 9 African elephants by transrectal ultrasound. Measurements of foetal crown–rump lengths have provided the first accurate growth curves, which differ significantly from the previous theoretical estimates based on the cube root of foetal mass. We have used these to age 22 African elephant foetuses collected during culling operations. Pregnancy can be first recognized ultrasonographically by day 50, the presumptive yolk sac by about day 75 and the zonary placenta by about day 85. The trunk is first recognizable by days 85–90 and is distinct by day 104, while the first heartbeats are evident from around day 80. By combining ultrasonography and morphology, we have been able to produce the first reliable criteria for estimating gestational age and ontological development of Asian and African elephant foetuses during the first third of gestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuptial feeding is an important part of mating in several arthropods including some spiders. A male can contribute via the nuptial gift to his own offspring (paternal investment) and/or the nuptial gift may allow him to better transfer sperm or to make the female more willing to copulate (mating effort). From the female's perspective, however, weighing a male's quality according to the presence of a gift should coincide with her mating status, because male rejection by the virgin female may decrease her fitness by increasing the likelihood of remaining unmated. Therefore, female mate choice would depend on her mating status and virgin females are expected to be less choosy than mated females. I examined this hypothesis in the nursery web spider, Pisaura mirabilis , in which females are polyandrous and mate both with males with and without a gift. I found no support for my hypothesis; instead the presence of a gift was crucial in accomplishing successful copulation regardless of female mating status. Interestingly, sexual size dimorphism was found to be a significant predictor for duration of copulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the reproductive cycle of the bottlenose dolphin. Characteristics of the estrous cycle; Artificial insemination using frozen-thawed spermatozoa; Excretory dynamics of urinary luteinizing hormone and ovarian steroid metabolites; Effect of a synthetic progesterone analog on reproductive hormone excretion.

Reports that sperm cryopreservation and artificial insemination are important management tools for giant panda breeding and the preservation of extant genetic diversity. Examination on the influence of freeze-thawing on sperm function and capacitation; Assessment of sperms from a number of giant pandas before and after rapid cryopreservation; Discovery on the ability of giant panda spermatozoa to undergo capacitation with or without chemical accelerators and withstand a rapid cryopreservation protocol.

In many animals reproductive success is determined after insemination by the interaction of male and female processes. While sperm competition is reasonably well understood in some taxa, other processes, such as cryptic female choice and differential early embryo mortality resulting from genetic incompatibilities, are less well understood. The relative importance of these different factors contributing to reproductive success is difficult to assess. Here we control for male-mediated effects (which are often considerable and can mask more subtle processes) through the artificial insemination of known numbers of sperm in the domestic fowl to reveal that male reproductive success is nontransitive across females: the success of a particular male depends on the background against which his sperm compete for fertilization. Two potential processes could account for this effect: cryptic female choice (sperm choice) or differential early embryo mortality. Regardless of the mechanism, nontransitivity of male reproductive success has important evolutionary consequences, including the maintenance of variation in male fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Examines the sperm competition mechanisms in wild bird population. Efficacy of anticopulator; Determination on the frequency and timing of extra-pair inseminations; Fertilization probability caused by female behavior.

The study was done to understand the preservation of Washed Spermatozoa of Mehsana Buck at Refrigeration temperature. The washed spermatozoa from 78 semen ejaculates, 26 each from 3 Mehsana bucks, were preserved at 4 ± 10C temperature in SM and TCFEY diluents up to 72 hours and the physical characteristics of spermatozoa were studied to assess the suitability of diluents. The individual sperm motility and live spermatozoa decreased significantly whereas abnormal spermatozoa increased significantly (P<0.05) at each 12 hrs interval of preservation in two diluents. The effect of diluents on spermatozoan characteristics was less pronounced in SM than TCFEY diluent. Among the interaction studies, stage of preservation affected the live spermatozoa and their morphology. The findings suggested superiority of SM diluent over TCFEY for preservation of Mehsana buck semen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the controversial issues faced by the tiger breeding facility, Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Centre, in Harbin, China. With about 800 Siberian tigers in its collection, the facility is facing media attention due to violent videos taken from its tourism programs. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting, held in Hague, Netherlands on June 2007, likewise criticizes China's tiger-breeding program and threatens to reintroduce its 600 tigers into the wild. Meanwhile, scientists are also considering the genetic diversity of Siberian tigers through artificial insemination to avoid their extinction.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the various alternations between long and short days of sunlight in an attempt to optimise the production of semen collected for artificial insemination (AI) under field conditions. The results suggest that alternation between long days and short days allowed for the production of AI doses all year round in large scale under field conditions. The alternation 45 LD / 45 SD seems to be the better treatment to optimise the production of AI doses. Under these conditions the production of AI doses was not influenced by the rhythm of collection. More investigations are necessary to optimise the rhythm of weekly collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reproductive physiology of the Pacific white-sided dolphin, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens, was characterized to facilitate the development of artificial insemination (AI) using cryopreserved spermatozoa. Specific objectives were to: 1) describe reproductive seasonality of the Pacific white sided dolphins; 2) describe urinary LH and ovarian steroid metabolites during the estrous cycle; 3) correlate LH and ovarian steroidal metabolite patterns to ultrasound-monitored follicular growth and ovulation; and 4) assess the efficacy of synchronizing estrus, sperm collection/cryopreservation, and intrauterine insemination. Ovulations (64%, n=37) and conceptions (83%, n=18) occurred from August to October. Peak mean serum testosterone (24 ng/ml), cross-sectional testicular area (41.6 cm²), and sperm concentration (144.3x107 sperm/ml) occurred in July, August, and September respectively. Spermatozoa were only found in ejaculates from July to October. Estrous cycles (n=22) were 31 d long and were comprised of a 10 d follicular and 21 d luteal phase. Ovulation occurred 31.2 h after the onset of the LH surge and 19.3 h after the LH peak. Follicular diameter and circumference within 12 h of ovulation were 1.52 and 4.66 cm respectively. Estrus synchronization attempts with altrenogest resulted in 17 (22%) ovulatory cycles with ovulation occurring 21 d post-altrenogest. Ten AI attempts using cryopreserved semen resulted in five pregnancies (50%). The mean gestation length was 356 days (range 348-367). These data provide new information on the Pacific white-sided dolphin's reproductive physiology and collectively enabled the first application of AI in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to gametes, mammalian internal fertilisation has required the evolution of assorted anatomical, physiological and biochemical devices to deal with intra- and inter-sexual conflict such as sperm competition and female cryptic choice respectively. The seminal coagulum of primates and other mammals is viewed as one of such devices. Among primates, the seminal coagulum characteristically occurs in multi-male and multi-female species, leading us to suppose that it intervenes in sperm competition. However, it can also provide cues to the female reproductive tract about male desired or undesired traits, and therefore deter or favour sperm survival and migration. The present work investigates whether the seminal coagulum of the black-handed spider monkey enhances sperm fertilisation chances by improving the female reproductive tract conditions, and if the female reproductive tract is 'blind' to semen or behaves selectively towards ejaculates of different males. A series of artificial inseminations were done in five females, using the ejaculates of three different males, one at a time, and measuring the presence of distinct types of sperm inside the uteri at 10, 30 and 60 min following the insemination. The presence of coagulum, menstrual phase, and male and female identity only affected fast, straight-moving sperm, with larger amounts of fast sperm appearing inside the uteri when ejaculates had seminal coagulum, as well as when in the periovulatory phase. There was great intra-uterine fast-sperm variation regarding which male's semen inseminated which female. The results provide evidence to account for sexual conflict in the spider monkey as well as a methodological approach to this kind of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on measures undertaken by Australian marine scientists to save the endangered grey nurse shark from extinction. Australian marine scientists are planning radical measures to prevent the extinction of the shark. Under the plan, a seven gill shark was artificially inseminated and monitored in an effort to perfect the technique for use in grey nurse sharks. In the next 10 years, Nick Otway and other marine biologists from the New South Wales State Fisheries Department will attempt to develop artificial uteri in which the shark embryos can develop. Researchers have found that grey nurse sharks exhibit intrauterine cannabilism; once the pups are about 10cm long, they have developed a fully functional set of jaws and teeth and they then set about trying to eat each other. Environmental groups such as the Humane Society International and the Nature Conservation Council have pointed out that on average, one grey nurse is killed every month either by shark nets or commercial and recreational fishing. Therefore, there is absolutely no point breeding sharks in test tubes without securing a safe place to release them in the wild.

This article reports that due next August, it's the offspring of a white rhino couple at the Budapest Zoo that received a bit of help from artificial insemination expert Thomas Hildebrandt of the Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research. Hildebrandt says attempts to breed rhinos in captivity have been largely unsuccessful, sharing close quarters is apparently a turnoff for the beasts, whose normal mating activities involve a fair dose of aggression. The team hopes to repeat the success with captive northern white rhinos, a handful of which still roam in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo.