Use artificial insemination

Overall effectiveness category Likely to be beneficial
Number of studies: 3
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

40%
Certainty

40%
Harms

9%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

During programmes to rear endangered animals in captivity, in preparation for reintroductions into the wild, artificial insemination may be used to initiate pregnancies. The technique may be used instead of natural mating in situations such as animals being kept at different facilities or where natural mating has failed. It may also be carried out using preserved sperm for purposes of maintaining genetic diversity.

Studies included here are those identified by our searches of conservation journals. It is likely that other relevant studies exist in biological journals that specialise in reproduction.

Study locations

Key messages

Three studies evaluated the effects on mammals of using artificial insemination. One study was in the USA, one was in Brazil and one was in China.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

POPULATION RESPONSE (3 STUDIES)

Reproductive success (3 studies): A study in the USA found that following artificial insemination, fewer than half of female black‐footed ferrets gave birth. A study in Brazil found that following artificial insemination, a captive female Amazonian brown brocket deer gave birth. A replicated study in China found that following artificial insemination, a lower proportion of captive female giant pandas became pregnant than after natural mating.

BEHAVIOUR (0 STUDIES)

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A study in 2008–2011 in two ex-situ facilities in Wyoming and Virginia, USA (Howard et al. 2016) found that following artificial insemination, fewer than half of female black‐footed ferrets Mustela nigripes gave birth. Five out of 18 (28%) artificially inseminated female black-footed ferrets gave birth. Eight kits were born. Six of those kits subsequently went on to breed by natural mating. Kinship (a measure of relatedness within a population) was lower among these kits and their descendants than among the population as a whole. The study was conducted at the National Black‐Footed Ferret Conservation Center and at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. Ferrets were managed in individual cages (1.0–3.6 × 1.3–6.0 m). Semen was collected from adult ferrets (1–6 years old) by electroejaculation and cryopreserved for 10–20 years. Females were inseminated by transabdominal injections of sperm.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Howard J.G., Lynch C., Santymire R.M., Marinari P.E. & Wildt D.E. (2016) Recovery of gene diversity using long-term cryopreserved spermatozoa and artificial insemination in the endangered black-footed ferret. Animal Conservation, 19, 102-111.
A study in 2012–2013 in an ex-situ facility in São Paulo, Brazil (Oliveira et al. 2016) found that following artificial inseminated, a captive female Amazonian brown brocket deer Mazama nemorivaga gave birth. Seven months after being artificially inseminated, a female Amazonian brown brocket deer gave birth without veterinary intervention to a healthy male fawn. A captive adult pair of Amazonian brown brocket deer was kept in isolated pens in a deer research facility. Animals were exposed to natural light conditions and given similar diets. Every morning for one month, a trained examiner manually observed the female for signs of natural oestrus. Eight hours after oestrus was detected, the female was physically restrained, anesthetized and inseminated. Sperm was collected by electroejaculation. Tools and techniques used for artificial insemination were based on those from procedures carried out on sheep and other small ruminants.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Oliveira M.E.F., Zanetti E.S., Cursino M.S., Peroni E.F.C., Rola L.D., Feliciano M.A.R., Canola J.C. & Duarte J.M.B. (2016) First live offspring of Amazonian brown brocket deer (Mazama nemorivaga) born by artificial insemination. European Journal of Wildlife Research, 62, 767-770.
A replicated study in 1996–2016 in Sichuan Province, China (Li et al. 2017) found that following artificial insemination, a lower proportion of 78 captive female giant pandas Ailuropoda melanoleucahela became pregnant than after natural mating. Following artificial insemination, a lower percentage of female pandas became pregnant (19%) than following natural mating (61%). However, there was no significant difference in the litter size of females inseminated artificially or through natural mating (data reported as model results). Between 1996 and 2016, seventy-eight female pandas held in open-air enclosures at two facilities were subject to 65 attempts at artificial insemination and 150 attempts at natural mating. Natural mating was always attempted first but, in cases of excessive aggression between males and females, artificial insemination was used instead.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Li D., Wintle N.J., Zhang G., Wang C., Luo B., Martin-Wintle M.S., Owen M. & Swaisgood R.R. (2017) Analyzing the past to understand the future: natural mating yields better reproductive rates than artificial insemination in the giant panda. Biological Conservation, 216, 10-17.

Please cite as:

Littlewood, N.A., Rocha, R., Smith, R.K., Martin, P.A., Lockhart, S.L., Schoonover, R.F., Wilman, E., Bladon, A.J., Sainsbury, K.A., Pimm S. and Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Terrestrial Mammal Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Interventions for terrestrial mammals excluding bats and primates. Synopses of Conservation Evidence Series. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Terrestrial Mammal Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Preserve genetic material for use in future captive breeding programs Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	2	Synopsis Link
Use artificial insemination Action Link	Likely to be beneficial	3	Synopsis Link
Breed mammals in captivity Action Link	Beneficial	3	Synopsis Link