Specific setup and methodology for computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) in evaluating elasmobranch sperm

Abstract

1. One-third of elasmobranch species are threatened with extinction, and the precise assessment of their sperm parameters and quality is one stage in the development of reproductive technology for animal conservation. 2. Computer-Assisted Sperm Analysis (CASA) is the gold standard for sperm analysis; however, there were not one setup established for elasmobranchs. 3. This study presents the description of a specific setup developed for elasmobranch semen analysis using the CASA system. 4. In addition, it provides a gold-standard technique protocol for elasmobranch sperm quality assessment. 5. The described setup presented an accuracy of more than 90 percent in fourteen distinct species of freshwater and marine sharks, stingrays, and rays, failing only when there were two or more bundled sperm.

Keywords

• Shark
• Ray
• Stingray
• One conservation
• Biobanking
• Reproduction for conservation