title: Seasonal and genera-specific variations in semen availability and semen characteristics in large parrots.
abstract: In large parrots electro-stimulation is suitable for collecting semen, and therefore, to facilitate semen examination and artificial insemination. Previous studies have detected differences in the semen collection success rate and semen parameters between psittacine genera. It remained unclear whether these differences were genera-related, seasonal variations or depend on the males' relationship status. To answer these questions, semen collection and spermatological analysis were performed for four psittacine groups (macaws, amazons, eclectus parrots and cockatoos) over 13 months. In one breeding facility, semen collection was attempted in 82 males using electro-stimulation twice monthly. A complete spermatological evaluation was performed on 435 semen samples. Volume, color, consistency, contamination and pH of semen, as well as motility, progressive motility, sperm concentration, total sperm count, viability, and morphology of spermatozoa were evaluated. Seasonality affected the collection success rate in macaws and amazons. Thereby, in amazons a distinct peak was observed several days before and around oviposition, whereas eclectus parrots and cockatoos produced semen all year round. The average sperm concentration was highest in eclectus parrots (2.7 × 106sperm/μl) and lowest in macaws (35.6 × 103sperm/μl). The differences in the semen collection success rate and semen parameters seem to coincide with the bird's breeding biology. The collected data allows a prognostic estimation when semen collection seems favorable, and may be taken as orientation values for semen analysis in these species.
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Frankfurter Str. 91, D-35392 Giessen, Germany. Electronic address: andreas.bublat@vetmed.uni-giessen.de.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bublat
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Frankfurter Str. 91, D-35392 Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Loro Parque Fundación, Avenida Loro Parque s/n, 38400 Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain. Electronic address: simon.bruslund@heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bruslund
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Frankfurter Str. 91, D-35392 Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Biology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 2, 30559 Hanover, Germany. Electronic address: sabine.meinecke-Tillmann@tiho-hannover.de.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meinecke-Tillmann
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Andrology of Large and Small Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Frankfurter Str. 106, 35392 Giessen, Germany. Electronic address: axel.wehrend@vetmed.uni-giessen.de.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wehrend
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Frankfurter Str. 91, D-35392 Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lierz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D010311:Parrots / Q000502:physiology*; D012621:Seasons; D055101:Semen Analysis / Q000662:veterinary*; D013045:Species Specificity; D053625:Sperm Retrieval / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: Assisted reproduction; Psittacines; Season; Semen collection; Spermatological examination