Loss of potential young in the ewe due to high ambient temperature

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Abstract
Embryonic development and other measures of reproductive performance were compared for 3 years in sheep maintained at 65°F, at prevailing summer temperatures, and at a constant, high temperature (92°F). The concentration and motility of the sperm and the fertility of the semen from control rams declined during periods of high temperature. Fertilization rate was lowered when rams were exposed to high prevailing atmospheric temperatures or ewes to a constant high temperature. A higher percentage of morphologically abnormal ova was recovered from ewes subjected to the higher temperatures. The stages of embryonic development indicated that, in ewes at the higher temperature, a loss of potential young occurs by a cessation of development during cleavage. Submitted on May 6, 1960