ANIREP-3164; No. of Pages 18 Animal Reproduction Science xxx (2006) xxx–xxx Studies of male reproduction in captive African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) S.D. Johnston a,∗ , D. Ward b , J. Lemon b , I. Gunn c , C.A. MacCallum b , T. Keeley b , D. Blyde b a School of Animal Studies, The University of Queensland, Gatton 4343, Australia b Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales, Dubbo 2830, Australia c Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia Received 11 May 2006; received in revised form 3 August 2006; accepted 7 August 2006 Abstract Implementation of assisted breeding in the captive African wild dog is restricted by a current lack of knowledge on their reproductive physiology and the apparent difficulty of effectively manipulating the com- plex social dynamic of the pack in order to conduct reproductive procedures. In this study, we describe protocols for the safe and repeated capture and restraint of the African wild dog (n = 7) as well as techniques for assessment of male reproductive function, semen collection and preservation. In a serendipitous finding, captive African wild dogs appeared to display significant seasonal change in male reproduction. Testic- ular volume and tone, spermatorrhea and the ability to collect semen by electroejaculation all increased significantly during late summer and then subsequently declined by early spring. While there were no detectable seasonal changes in testosterone concentration in the population as whole, the alpha-dominant male in both years of the study, had a highly elevated testosterone concentration compared to subordinate males. Semen collection by electroejaculation during the late summer was most effective in peri-pubertal males (15 months) when all seven electroejaculates were of adequate quality for cryopreservation. In the second breeding season (27 months), there were numerous changes in the pack hierarchy and electroe- jaculation was not as successful (3/7). The characteristics of electroejaculated semen collected in the breeding season are described for seven animals including the first descriptions and incidence of sperm abnormalities in the species. Semen (n =7) was frozen using a Tris–citrate fructose buffer and final egg yolk and glycerol concentration of 20% and 4%, respectively. Sperm were loaded into 0.25mL straws, frozen in liquid nitrogen vapor and then thawed at 37 ◦ C. Initial post-thaw survival of spermatozoa was encouraging (% motile: 31.8 ± 5.8%; rate: 2.8 ± 0.3; % intact plasma membranes: 33.4 ± 5.3% and the ∗ Corresponding author at: 35 Pine County Place, Bellbowrie, Queensland 4070, Australia. Tel.: +61 7 32026902; fax: +61 7 33655644. E-mail address: s.johnston1@uq.edu.au (S.D. Johnston). 0378-4320/$ – see front matter © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.anireprosci.2006.08.017 Please cite this article as: S.D. Johnston et al., Studies of male reproduction in captive African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), Animal Reproduction Science (2006), doi:10.1016/j.anireprosci.2006.08.017