Ejaculate traits of ram lambs with different rectal temperatures under heat stress conditions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.rccp.v38n2a7Keywords:
heat stress, motility, rams, resilience, ruminants, semen, sperm, testicleAbstract
Background: Heat stress reduces semen quality in rams. Objective: To evaluate the productive and reproductive responses of rams and ram lambs with different rectal temperatures under heat stress conditions. Methods: The animals (n = 12, Dorper × Katadhin × Pelibuey crossbreed, aged 235 to 730 days) were assigned to one of three experimental groups: ram lambs with low rectal temperature (RLLRT), ram lambs with high rectal temperature (RLHRT), and Rams. Results: Afternoon rectal temperatures were higher (p ≤ 0.05) in the RLHRT group, and there was no difference (p > 0.05) between the Rams and RLHRT groups. Ejaculate volume and sperm concentration were higher (p ≤ 0.05) in the Rams group than in the RLLRT and RLHRT groups. Mass motility and sperm concentration were lower (p ≤ 0.05) in the RLLRT group than in the RLHRT and Rams groups. Average daily weight gain did not differ (p > 0.05) between the RLLRT and RLHRT groups. Conclusion: The selection of ram lambs with low rectal temperature under heat stress conditions did not provide any benefit in terms of average daily weight gain or ejaculate traits.
Downloads
References
Abecia JA, Macías Á, Casao A, Burillo C, Martín E, Pérez-Pé R, Laviña A. Semen quality of Rasa Aragonesa Rams Carrying the FecXR Allele
of the BMP15 Gene. Animals. 2020; 10(9):1628. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10091628
Alves MBR, Andrade AFC, Arruda RP, Batissaco L, Florez-Rodriguez SA, Oliveira BMM, Torres MA, Lançoni R, Ravagnani GM,
Prado RR, Vellone VS, Losano JD, Franci CR, Nichi M, Celeghini ECC. Recovery of normal testicular temperature after scrotal heat stress
in rams assessed by infrared thermography and its effects on seminal characteristics and testosterone blood serum concentration. Theriogenology. 2016; 86(3):795-805. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2016.02.034
Belhadj I, Chniter M, Najar T, Ghram A. Meta-analysis of some physiologic, metabolic and oxidative responses of sheep exposed to environmental heat stress. Livest Sci. 2019; 229:179–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2019.09.026
Boni R. Heat stress, a serious threat to reproductive function in animals and humans. Mol Reprod Dev. 2019; 86(10):1307–1323. https://doi.org/10.1002/mrd.23123
Carabaño MJ, Ramón M, Menéndez-Buxadera A, Molina A, Díaz C. Selecting for heat tolerance. Anim Front. 2019; 9(1):62–68. https://doi.org/10.1093/af/vfy033
Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC). CCAC guidelines on: the care and use of farm animals in research, teaching, and testing. 1st
Ed. Ottawa: Canadian Council on Animal Care; 2009. https://ccac.ca/Documents/Standards/Guidelines/Farm_Animals.pdf
Centro de Transferencia (InfoStat) [internet]. Argentina: Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; 2020. http://www.infostat.com.ar
El-Zeftawy M, Mahmoud GB, Hassan M. Impact of thermal stress exposure on seminal quality, antioxidant defence system, TNF-α and TIMP-3 in Ossimi ram. Reprod Domest Anim. 2020; 55(7):870–881. https://doi.org/10.1111/rda.13697
García E. Modificaciones al sistema de clasificación climática de Köppen. 5ta. Ed. México: Universidad Autónoma de México; 2004. http://www.publicaciones.igg.unam.mx/index.php/ig/catalog/book/83
Hamilton TRDS, Mendes CM, Castro LS, Assis PM, Siqueira AFP, Delgado JDC, Goissis MD, Muiño-Blanco T, Cebrián-Pérez JÁ, Nichi
M, Visintin JA, Assumpção ME. Evaluation of lasting effects of heat stress on sperm profile and oxidative status of ram semen and epididymal sperm. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2016; 1687657.https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/1687657
Hedia MG, El-Belely MS, Ismail ST, El-Maaty AM. Seasonal variation in testicular blood flow dynamics and their relation to systemic and
testicu, lar oxidant/antioxidant biomarkers and androgens in rams. Reprod Domest Anim. 2020; 55(7):861–869. https://doi.org/10.1111/rda.13696
Joy A, Dunshea FR, Leury BJ, Clarke IJ, Digiacomo K, Chauhan SS. Resilience of small ruminants to climate change and increased environmental temperature: A review. Animals. 2020a; 10(5):867. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10050867
Joy A, Dunshea FR, Leury BJ, Digiacomo K, Clarke IJ, Zhang MH, Abhijith A, Osei-Amponsah R, Chauhan SS. Comparative assessment of thermotolerance in dorper and secondcross (Poll dorset/merino × border leicester) lambs. Animals. 2020b; 10(12):1–14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122441
Kahwage PR, Esteves SN, Jacinto MAC, Barioni W, Machado R, Romanello N, Passeri LF, Mendonça KL, Garcia AR. Assessment of body and scrotal thermoregulation and semen quality of hair sheep rams throughout the year in a tropical environment. Small Rumin Res. 2018; 160:72–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2018.01.015
Kahwage PR, Esteves SN, Jacinto MAC, Junior WB, Pezzopane JRM, de Andrade MH, Bosi C, Miguel MC, Mahlmeister K, Garcia AR. High systemic and testicular thermolytic efficiency during heat tolerance test reflects better semen quality in rams of tropical breeds. Int J Biometeorol. 2017; 61:1819–1829. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-017-1367-4
Maquivar MG, Smith SM, Busboom JR. Reproductive management of rams and ram lambs during the pre-breeding season in us sheep farms. Animals. 2021; 11(9):1–12. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11092503
Maurya VP, Sejian V, Kumar D, Naqvi SMK. Impact of heat stress, nutritional restriction and combined stresses (heat and nutritional)
on growth and reproductive performance of Malpura rams under semi-arid tropical environment. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 2016; 100(5):938–946. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpn.12443
McManus CM, Faria DA, Lucci CM, Louvandini H, Pereira SA, Paiva SR. Heat stress effects on sheep: Are hair sheep more heat resistant?. Theriogenology. 2020; 155:157–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2020.05.047
Menéndez-Buxadera A, Serradilla JM, Molina A. Genetic variability for heat stress sensitivity in Merino de Grazalema sheep. Small Rumin Res. 2014; 121(2-3):207–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2014.06.007
Morrell JM. Heat stress and bull fertility. Theriogenology. 2020; 153(1):62–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2020.05.014
Pantoja MH, Esteves SN, Jacinto MA, Pezzopane JR, Paz CC, da Silva JA, Lourenço JB, Brandão FZ, Moura AB, Romanello N, Botta D, Garcia AR. Thermoregulation of male sheep of indigenous or exotic breeds in a tropical environment. J Therm Biol. 2017; 69:302–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2017.09.002
Ramón M, Salces-Ortiz J, González C, PérezGuzmán MD, Garde JJ, García-Álvarez O, MarotoMorales A, Calvo JH, Serrano MM. Influence of the temperature and the genotype of the HSP90AA1 gene over sperm chromatin stability in Manchega rams. PLoS One. 2014; 9(4):e95407. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0086107
Salhab SA, Zarkawi M, Wardeh MF, Al-Masri MR, Kassem R. Characterization and evaluation of semen in growing awassi ram lambs. Trop Anim Health Prod. 2003; 35:455–463. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025823730733
Seifi-Jamadi A, Zhandi M, Kohram H, Luceño NL, Leemans B, Henrotte E, Latour C, Demeyere K, Meyer E, Van Soom A. Influence of seasonal differences on semen quality and subsequent embryo development of Belgian Blue bulls. Theriogenology. 2020; 158:8–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2020.08.037
Sejian V, Bhatta R, Gaughan JB, Dunshea FR, Lacetera N. Review: Adaptation of animals to heat stress. Animal. 2018; 12(2):431–444. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731118001945
Shahat AM, Thundathil JC, Kastelic JP. Scrotal subcutaneous temperature is increased by scrotal insulation or whole-body heating, but
not by scrotal neck insulation; however, all three heat-stress models decrease sperm quality in bulls and rams. J Therm Biol. 2021; 100:103064. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2021.103064
Tadesse D, Puchala R, Gipson TA, Goetsch AL. Effects of high heat load conditions on body weight, feed intake, temperature, and respiration of Dorper, Katahdin, and St. Croix sheep. J Appl Anim Res. 2019; 47(1):492–505. https://doi.org/1 0.1080/09712119.2019.1674658
Thornton P, Nelson G, Mayberry D, Herrero M. Increases in extreme heat stress in domesticated livestock species during the twenty-first century. Glob Chang Biol. 2021; 27(22):5762–5772. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15825
Van Wettere WHEJ, Kind KL, Gatford KL, Swinbourne AM, Leu ST, Hayman PT, Kelly JM, Weaver AC, Kleemann DO, Walker SK. Review of the impact of heat stress on reproductive performance of sheep. J Anim Sci Biotechnol. 2021; 12(26):1–18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40104-020-00537-z
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Pecuarias

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The authors enable RCCP to reprint the material published in it.
The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions, and will allow the author(s) to retain publishing rights without restrictions.