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Abstract
1. Over three breeding seasons on a farm in Poland, semen was collected from 11 ostriches using the dummy and the teaser method to study the effects of the method of collection, male age, month in the breeding season, and daily collection frequency on ejaculate characteristics.
2. A total of 259 ejaculates were collected, with an average volume of 1·28 ± 0·6 (±SEM) ml. Sperm concentration was 3·34 ± 0·08 × 109/ml, the total number of spermatozoa 4·32 ± 0·22 × 109, and motility 4·56 ± 0·04.
3. There was no difference in ejaculates collected by the dummy and teaser methods, but the between-individual variation was considerable. Ejaculate characteristics increased with male age and varied between months, with little evidence for seasonal decline. Daily collections for 10 days did not affect sperm output.
4. The results open up avenues for further research on development of a viable protocol for artificial insemination in ostriches and efficient semen storage.
5. The between-male variation suggests that the ejaculate output could be maximized through selection.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Marta and Henryk Naranowicz, the owners of Stypulow Ostrich Farm, for their generosity in giving access to their birds and facilities as well as for their hospitality. We also wish to acknowledge support from Elzbieta Maliszewska during the project.
We thank Tomasz Rybnik (University of Warsaw) and Charlie K. Cornwallis (University of Oxford) for their help with statistical analysis.
Experimental work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, no. PO6Z03727. The support of the Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation (Australia) to IAM is also appreciated.