Semen characteristics and fertility of rabbits subjected to exhaustive use

Abstract

SummaryUp to 26 ejaculations were obtained from male rabbits within a period of 8 hours. During the next 20 days, further ejaculates were collected to establish the pattern of restoration of normal values. Repeated ejaculation resulted in a marked and progressive decline in the 3 semen characters examined; sperm density returned only slowly (3 weeks) to the initial level whereas fructose and volume, in particular, responded much faster. No significant effect of ejaculate order on fertility, litter size or sex ratio was demonstrated.

Reproductive Physiology of Male Rabbits: A Key Factor in Buck Selection for Breeding (Paper Review)

“…Sperm concentration and volume of semen ejaculated in rabbit ranges from 150 -500 × 10 6 sperm/ml and 0.3 -0.6 ml respectively [4] [59]. Some factors such as diet, collection frequency, age, sequence of ejaculate and ambient temperature [60] affect semen volume and sperm concentration.…”

Mating capacity of male deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi) copulating with successive females

“…This is in spite of the fact that sperm countsdecreaseover successive seriesso thatthe sixthejaculation contains only approximately one-quarter as many sperm as the first (Dewsbury & Sawrey, 1984). A lackof decrements in potency over successive ejaculations has also beenfound in other species (e.g., Adams & Singh, 1981 ;Allison, 1978;Markow, 1985). In house mice it has been found that potencyis reduced only whenepididymal sperm counts drop to below 10% of normal (Searle & Beechey, 1974).…”

“…In some species, such as laboratory rats (Austin & Dewsbury, 1986;Toner & Adler, 1985) golden hamsters (Huck & Lisk , 1985a, 1985b, various measures of potency show decrements over successive ejaculations that are roughly parallel to the decrements in the parameters of ejaculates. For other species, however, such as rabbits (Adams & Singh, 1981), there is no detectable decrement in potency despite substantial reductions in ejaculate contents. For such species it appears that males cease copulating before potency falls appreciably; males of such species have been termed " honest salesmen " (Halliday & Houston, 1978).…”

“…There are species differences in withinepisode patterns as well. In most species studied to date, the number of sperm and other constituents of ejaculate decrease over successive ejaculations within a session (e.g., Adams & Singh, 1981;Bakst & Cecil, 1981). Furthermore, species appear to differ with respect to the relative fertility of the late ejaculates delivered by partially depleted males.…”

Development of an Inexpensive Artificial Vagina for Semen Collection from Rabbits

“…Rabbits have been regularly used in andrologic studies because of the relative ease of obtaining ejaculated semen (Kirton et al, 1966; Amann and Lambiase, 1967; Skinner, 1967; Carson and Amann, 1972). Previous studies note that an artifical vagina was used to collect rabbit ejaculates; however, the construction of the device or the commercial acquisition of such a device is not clear from the literature (Desjardins et al, 1968; Paufler, 1975; Oshio et al, 1986; Adams and Singh, 1981). Because of the difficulty in acquiring an artifical vagina for our planned andrologic studies requiring semen analysis as an endpoint, we developed our own artifical vagina for semen collection in rabbits.…”