Successful Cryopreservation of Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) semen using simple techniques
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This thesis is an investigation of the effect of simple freezing techniques, storage at 4°C and different thaw temperatures on post-thaw measures of cryopreserved Asian elephant semen samples. There was a significant effect of freeze rate on post-thaw motility (P<0.0001) and acrosomal integrity (P<0.005) of straws frozen after 0 and 24 hr storage at 4°C. The faster freeze rates in the dry shipper and at 1cm or 2 cm above liquid nitrogen consistently provided better cryopreservation than slower freezing rates. Thaw temperature had no effect on post-thaw semen quality. Storage of samples prior to freezing had a detrimental effect on post-thaw semen quality. Placing straws directly in a dry shipper to freeze and thawing them at 50°C was a simple technique for effectively cryopreserving Asian elephant semen.