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Influence of breeding season and reproductive status on male reproductive characteristics in the common mole-rat, Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus

The effects of breeding season and reproductive status on male reproduction were investigated in the common mole-rat (Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus), a co-operatively breeding rodent that exhibits seasonal reproduction and a reproductive division of labour. Testicular anatomical and histological morphometrics, and selected sperm parameters were studied in 50 males from 17 wild caught colonies. Males exhibited no apparent manifestation of season on testicular activity: spermatogenesis and sperm quality (motility and percentage normal morphology) were similar in the reproductively active and inactive periods. This maintenance of reproductive activity during the non-reproductive period is essential in C. h. hottentotus males, as this period coincides with the period of maximal dispersal opportunities. Such reproductive activation in dispersing males may aid intersexual recognition, and assist pair-bond formation or successful assimilation into foreign colonies, thereby facilitating later outbreeding. Consequently, outbreeding opportunities may be important determinants of reproductive activity in male common mole-rats, moderating seasonal effects. Reproductive and non-reproductive males revealed no differences in any of the testicular or sperm parameters studied. The absence of a physiologically well-defined suppression of reproduction in male common mole-rats is more typical of social suppression in male mammals.