Influence of Seasonality on Buffalo Semen

Abstract

Abstract:The present study was undertaken with the objective to compare the influence of seasonal temperature variations on parameters of ejaculates of Murrah buffalo bulls raised in the humid tropical Amazonian climate. Five buffaloes were selected from a batch of 12 adult bulls, pre-evaluated for clinical and andrological examination, and were used as semen donors, using as criterion the best ejaculate quality. The objective of the present study was, therefore, to test the hypothesis that season affects buffalo semen quality in tropical regions. The experimental period was divided into two phases: rainy season (RS), from February to May, and non rainy season (nRS), from August to November 2016. The ejaculates were collected twice a week (n=30) per bull, namely 10 ejaculates in the RS and 20 ejaculates in the nRS period, totaling (n=150) samples for analysis. The evaluations of the semen samples were performed with fresh semen, immediately after each collection. The immediate analyzes pertinent to the physical and morphological characteristics of the ejaculates showed that a significant statistical difference was observed for the parameters wave motion, motility, vigor, major defects, minor defects, total defects and plasma membrane integrity between the both periods (P<0.05). In the mesoregion of the Lower Amazon, a tropical region, the ideal period for experiments using buffalo ejaculates, are the months of the rainy season. For in this period a better quality without ejaculate of buffaloes was observed.