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Updated: May 26, 2026
14:40
Instrumentation of Near-term Fetal Sheep for Multivariate Chronic Non-anesthetized Recordings
Published on: October 25, 2015
External and internal modulators of sheep reproduction
Dominique Blache1, Samantha L Bickell
1Faculty of Natural & Agricultural Sciences, School of Animal Biology M085, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. Dominique.Blache@uwa.edu.au
Reproductive Biology
|December 28, 2011
Summary
Sheep temperament, or emotional reactivity, influences reproductive success. Selection for temperament impacts sheep reproduction, potentially through energy partitioning mechanisms affecting the reproductive cycle.
Area of Science:
- Animal Science
- Reproductive Biology
- Behavioral Ecology
Background:
- Reproductive capacity in sheep is influenced by season, genetics, social interaction, and metabolic status.
- Emotional reactivity, termed temperament, is an emerging factor studied for its impact on sheep reproductive success.
- Understanding temperament's role requires defining it and its heritability in sheep.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review classical factors affecting sheep reproduction.
- To define emotional reactivity (temperament) and its variability in sheep.
- To illustrate how selection for temperament affects sheep reproductive biology.
Main Methods:
- Reviewing established factors influencing sheep reproduction.
- Defining and measuring temperament in sheep, including its heritability.
- Utilizing data from a unique flock selected for high or low emotional reactivity.
Main Results:
- Temperament, or emotional reactivity, is a significant factor modulating sheep reproductive success.
- A specific protocol for measuring sheep temperament has been developed and analyzed.
- Selection for temperament traits demonstrably affects various aspects of sheep reproductive biology.
Conclusions:
- Energy partitioning is proposed as a key mechanism linking temperament selection to reproductive cycle outcomes in sheep.
- Temperament selection influences different stages of the sheep reproductive cycle.
- Further research into the physiological mechanisms, like energy partitioning, is warranted.
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