Short day length alone does not inhibit spermatogenesis in the seasonally breeding four-striped field mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio).
This study was an examination of the effect of photoperiod on spermatogenesis and the accessory glands of the four-striped field mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio), a seasonally breeding rodent that occurs through Southern Africa. Adult scrotal males were exposed to either short day length (10L:14D), long day length (14L:10D), or natural photoperiod in constant-environment rooms (25 degrees C, 41% humidity; food and water ad libitum) for 8 wk in late summer, when males in the wild were spermatogenically active, and in mid-winter, when they were inactive. In neither experiment did prolonged exposure to short day length or naturally decreasing day length inhibit spermatogenic activity, and we conclude that the normal cessation of spermatogenesis that occurs in most male four-striped field mice in winter is not stimulated by day length alone.
D000818:Animals; D002980:Climate; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009115:Muridae / Q000502:physiology*; D017440:Photoperiod; D011247:Pregnancy; D012621:Seasons; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000502:physiology*