Reproduction in male Japanese quail exposed to microwave radiation during embryogeny

Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) embryos were exposed continuously to 2.45 GHz CW microwave radiation during the first 12 days of embryogenesis. The incident power density was 5 mW/cm2, and the specific absorption rate (SAR) was 4.03 mW/g. At 23 weeks of age an assessment of the reproductive capacity of the males was performed. Spermatozoal numbers and motility in semen samples which were collected manually were reduced significantly (P less than or equal to 0.01). However, spermatozoal viability and gross morphological characteristics in the exposed birds were not consistently different from the controls. Relative testicular weights were not altered significantly in the exposed males. Percentage of fertile eggs was significantly reduced when exposed males were mated to sham control females. The percentage of fertile eggs obtained from mating exposed males with sham control females was 72.5%, while the percentage of fertile eggs from mating of sham control males with sham control females was 80.4%. These data indicate that reproductive capacity in male Japanese quail is reduced when the birds are exposed to 2.45 GHz CW microwave radiation during embryogenesis.