Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Jeffrey S. Stevenson / Two experiments assessed pregnancy outcomes (pregnancy per AI; P/AI) after 5-d Ovsynch-56 Resynch (RES; GnRH injection 5 d before [GnRH-1; d 0] and 56 h (GnRH-2) after the last PGF2α [PGF] injection on d 6 given 24 h after first PGF injection on d 5, and TAI on d 8) with and without a 5-d progesterone insert. In Exp. 1, only 76% of 1,023 nonpregnant cows enrolled on d 34 post-AI had high (≥1 ng/mL) progesterone. The RES-CIDR cows with low progesterone at treatment initiation had greater P/AI than RES-CON (37.7 vs. 29.4%), whereas RES-CIDR cows with high progesterone had lesser P/AI than RES-CON (27.4 vs. 34.3%) suggesting that supplemental progesterone is progesterone-dependent. In Exp. 2, 381 cows were enrolled in similar treatments on d 31 with RES on d 41post-AI plus a third treatment including PG-3-G (Pre-PGF on d 31, Pre-GnRH on d 34, and RES on d 41. The P/AI was similar among treatments but was greater in cows starting RES on d 41 when progesterone was low (44%) than high (33%).Experiment 3 determined LH and ovulatory responses in cows enrolled in two treatments before AI: 1) Pre10 (n = 37): PGF-1 and PGF-2 given 14 d apart (Presynch); or PG3G (n = 33): PGF given concurrent with the PGF-2, 3 d before GnRH-1 followed in 7 d by Ovsynch [injection of GnRH (GnRH-2) 7 d before PGF (PGF-3) and GnRH-3 at either 56 or 72 h after PGF-3] that was initiated 10 d after PGF-2 for Pre10 or 7 d after GnRH-1 of PG3G. The GnRH- 1 increased incidences of LH surges and ovulation in PG3G compared with Pre10. The LH in serum of Pre10 was greater than that of cows receiving PG3G after GnRH-2. Following GnRH- 3, cows receiving GnRH at 72 h had increased incidence of spontaneous LH surges before GnRH-3. The P/AI for PG3G vs. Pre10 and for 56 vs. 72 h was similar, but the Pre10-72 h treatment combination was less than all other treatment combinations. Release of LH is protocol dependent and flexibility of GnRH timing is an advantage for PG3G before first-service TAI.

The goal of this long-term study was to better understand the reproductive biology of the female bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and provide a hypothesis for how dolphins may communicate reproductive readiness to one another. Utilizing conditioned dolphins in aquaria, this dissertation examined several previously unknown aspects of dolphin reproduction, including ovarian follicular dynamics during the luteinizing hormone surge, urinary prolactin levels, estrus behavior, vaginal fluid arboriform arrangement, in-situ vaginal and cervical anatomy during estrus, reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) of urine samples to identify proteins and peptides that may be used in chemical communication, and a review and anatomical analysis of dolphin vibrassal crypts. The diffusely seasonal dolphin estrous cycle is not controlled by photoperiod and has a 10-day follicular and 20-day luteal phase. A brief ovulatory LH surge is followed by ovulation within 48 hours. An ethogram of 20 reproductive behaviors was developed, and all occurrences of reproductive behavior were analyzed during conceptive estrous cycles. A novel form of standing heat estrus, termed immobility, was observed, and estrus dolphins displayed genital nuzzling, active and passive mounting with other females, and an increase of standing heat intensity as LH levels rose. Prolactin plays a role in pregnancy maintenance, mammary development, allo-mothering behavior, lactation, and lactational anestrus. Dolphins are similar to sows where weaning causes a return to estrus, and in the boar effect, where days to ovulation are shortened in the presence of a mature male. Dolphin vaginal fluid showed crystallization arrangements with large open mesh patterns, conducive to sperm transport, during the estrogenic follicular phase, and closed mesh during the luteal phase. RP-HPLC analysis revealed that urine contained large amounts of peptides and proteins with peaks that change throughout the estrous cycle and with changes in social grouping. Remnant vibrissae from dolphin follicular crypts were sectioned, and it was hypothesized that trigeminal nerve endings could act similarly to those found in the nasal mucosa of terrestrial species and respond to chemical stimuli. This study provides new data to better understand the reproductive biology of a holaquatic mammal.