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Control of Reproduction in Seasonally Breeding Ruminants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2017

G.A. Lincoln
G.A. Lincoln*
Affiliation:
MRC Reproductive Biology Unit, 37 Chalmers Street, Edinburgh EH3 9EW
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Extract

All species of ruminants which have evolved in cold or temperate climates are seasonal breeders. This includes many species which have been domesticated such as sheep, goats, cattle, deer and camels. In the wild, births usually occur in spring or summer at a time of year optimal to survival of the offspring; this means that the period of fertility is restricted to a short mating or rutting season. The environmental factors which ultimately dictate the birth season (eg temperature and food supply) are different from the factors which act as proximate cues to dictate the time of the mating season (eg day-length).

In all seasonal breeders, the seasonal cycle In fertility is driven by changes in the pulsatile secretion of LHRH from the brain which dictates the level of release of LH and FSH from the anterior pituitary gland and the consequent activity of the ovaries or testes. Steroid hormones from the gonads act on the numerous target tissues including the brain where they modulate the LHRH pulse-generator and influence sexual and aggressive behaviour.

Type
Control of Reproduction in Seasonally Breeding Ruminants
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) , Volume 1988 , March 1988 , pp. 43
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1988

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