20th Annual Student Research Conference
Science
Determining Possible Reasons for Variation in Fertility Data Collected from Stallions Owned by Truman State University
Emily M. Costello
Dr. Michael I. Kelrick and Dr. Charlie Apter, Faculty Mentors
As part of the equine reproduction practicum class, quantitative data have been recorded from 1998 until 2006 on semen artificially collected from two Truman-owned stallions. Tracked measures included semen volume and sperm motility and concentration. Data were recorded each time a stallion was collected; these measures are routinely used to determine insemination dose and to monitor potential temporal variation of semen quality of each stallion. In the current analysis, a general linear model was used to retrospectively determine whether any independent variables (year, mounts required for collection, time of season, or stallion) affected the response variables (recorded measurements). Results indicated a significant difference in sperm concentration between the two stallions (F=73.38, p<0.0001), and semen volume for one of the stallions varied significantly among years (F=10.55, p=0.0015). A larger number of mounts required for collection correlated with an increased volume. No other response variables were significantly affected by the independent variables.
Keywords: Stallion, Fertility data, University farm
Topic(s):Agricultural Science
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 62-1
Location: VH 1432
Time: 2:45 pm