The Effects of Oxygen on the Short-term Storage of Striped Bass Semen

Abstract

The effect of different gaseous environments on the motility of spermatozoa from striped bass Morone saxatilis after 2 and 48 h of storage at 3 ± 1°C was examined. Storage in a 1.5-mL polypropylene snap-cap vial versus a 50-mL polystyrene tissue culture flask was also examined for any influence on motility. Motility declined with time within each treatment group and in comparison with the motility of freshly collected undiluted semen. After 2 h, there was no significant difference in the motility of sperm stored under ambient air or oxygen. After 48 h, however, semen stored under an oxygen atmosphere had a significantly (P < 0.0444) greater percentage of motile sperm (13 ± 2.4%) than did semen stored under ambient air (9 ± 1.9%) or nitrogen (4 ± 1.7%). These results suggest the importance of oxygen to the motility of striped bass sperm stored for short periods. After both 2 and 48 h of storage, the percentage of motile sperm obtained from semen stored in the 1.5-mL snap-cap vials was higher than that of sperm obtained from semen stored in the 50-mL tissue culture flasks in the same gaseous environment.