Imrat, PodjanaMahasawangkul, SittidetThitaram, C.Suthanmapinanth, P.Kornkaewrat, K.Sombutputorn, P.Jansittiwate, SaranThongtip, NikornPinyopummin, A.Colenbrander, B.Holt, W.V.Stout, T.A.E. (Tom)2014-07-092014-07-092014-06Imrat, P, Mahasawangkul, S, Thitaram, C, Suthanmapinanth, P, Kornkaewrat, K, Sombutputorn, P, Jansittiwate, S, Thongtip, N, Pinyopummin, A, Colenbrander, B, Holt, WV & Stout, TAE 2014, 'Effect of alternate day collection on semen quality of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) with poor initial fresh semen quality', Animal Reproduction Science, vol. 147, no. 3-4, pp. 154-160.0378-4320 (print)1873-2232 (online)10.1016/j.anireprosci.2014.04.008http://hdl.handle.net/2263/40680In captivity, male Asian elephants often yield poor quality semen after transrectal manually assisted semen collection; however, the reasons for the disappointing semen quality are not clear. Here we test the hypothesis that accumulation of senescent spermatozoa is a contributory factor, and that semen quality can therefore be improved by more frequent ejaculation. To this end we investigated the effect of collecting semen five times on alternate days, after a long period of sexual rest, on semen quality in Asian elephants known to deliver poor semen during infrequent single collections. All eight bulls initially displayed a high incidence of detached sperm heads and low percentages of motile (close to 0%) spermatozoa. After semen collection on alternate days, the percentages of detached sperm heads, and head and mid-piece abnormalities, were reduced significantly (p<0.05). In particular, one bull showed markedly improved sperm motility (increased from 0% to 60%) and membrane integrity (increased from 5% to 75%). In addition, advancing age significantly (p<0.01) correlated with lower percentages of sperm with intact membranes and a higher frequency of detached sperm heads. In contrast to sperm accumulation problems in other species, a small ampullary diameter correlated significantly (p<0.05) with reduced semen quality.en© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Animal Reproduction Science. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Animal Reproduction Science, vol. 147, no. 3-4, pp. 154-160, Jun 2014. doi : 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2014.04.008.Poor semen qualityFrequent semen collectionAmpullaeAsian elephant (Elephas maximus)Postprint Article