Carreira Janaina Torres, Lesobre Loïc, Boullenger Sylvain, Chalah Toni, Lacroix Frédéric, Hingrat Yves
Reneco International Wildlife Consultants LLC, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 61741, United Arab Emirates.
Animals (Basel). 2022 Mar 28;12(7):851. doi: 10.3390/ani12070851.
Artificial reproductive technologies are highly valuable for ex situ conservation. While Arabian bustard populations are declining and extinct in some parts of the range, the International Fund for Houbara Conservation in the United Arab Emirates implemented a conservation breeding program. Since 2012, a total of 1253 eggs were laid through natural reproduction, 1090 were incubated and 379 of these were fertile (fertility rate of 34.8%), leading to the production of 251 chicks. To improve fertility and acquire crucial knowledge for other endangered large birds, artificial reproduction was implemented in 2018 using fresh, refrigerated, and frozen sperm. A total of 720 ejaculates were collected from 12 birds. We analysed these samples for concentration, volume, motility score (0 to 5), viability (eosin/nigrosine), length, and morphology. The first age at collection was 35.7 ± 18.8 months, mean volume was 89.2 ± 65.3 µL, mean concentration was 928 ± 731 sptz/mL and mean motility score was 2.61 ± 0.95. Morphology analyses revealed a bimodal distribution of sperm length. Five hundred and thirty-five ejaculates were cryopreserved and the initial motility score was 3.4 ± 0.7 and 2.0 ± 0.6 after thawing, while the percentage of normal and intact membrane sperm cells decreased from 88.8 ± 7.5% to 52.9 ± 1%. Sixty-five artificial inseminations were performed, leading to a global fertility rate of 84.3%-more precisely, 85.2% and 83.3%, respectively, for fresh and cryopreserved semen. All methods successfully produced fertile eggs, indicating that artificial insemination is an efficient tool for the conservation and genetic management of the species.
人工繁殖技术对于迁地保护具有极高的价值。阿拉伯鸨种群数量在其分布范围的某些区域正在减少甚至灭绝，阿拉伯联合酋长国的阿拉伯鸨国际保护基金实施了一项保护育种计划。自2012年以来，通过自然繁殖共产下1253枚卵，其中1090枚进行了孵化，379枚受精（受精率为34.8%），共孵出251只雏鸟。为提高受精率并获取其他濒危大型鸟类的关键知识，2018年采用新鲜、冷藏和冷冻精子进行了人工繁殖。共从12只鸟身上采集了720份射精样本。我们对这些样本进行了浓度、体积、活力评分（0至5分）、存活率（伊红/苯胺黑染色法）、长度和形态分析。首次采集的年龄为35.7±18.8个月，平均体积为89.2±65.3微升，平均浓度为928±731个精子/微升，平均活力评分为2.61±与0.95。形态分析显示精子长度呈双峰分布。535份射精样本进行了冷冻保存，解冻后的初始活力评分为3.4±0.7，解冻后为2.0±0.6，而正常和完整膜精子细胞的百分比从88.8±7.5%降至52.9±1%。共进行了65次人工授精，总体受精率为84.3%，更准确地说，新鲜精液和冷冻精液的受精率分别为85.2%和83.3%。所有方法均成功产生了受精卵，这表明人工授精是该物种保护和遗传管理的有效工具。
