Fouad Gani, Abdellatif Niar
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desert, hormonal profile, Ouled Djellal, seasonal variation, sexual activity
The objective of this work was to investigate the seasonal variations of sexual activity of local rams raised in a desert environment in Southwestern Algeria, by measuring the changes in plasma concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone. A total of 60 mature and healthy rams of local breeds, mainly Ouled Djellal , belonging to 14 breeders in the area of Béchar and aged 1 to 4 years, were involved to determine the hormonal profiles of FSH, LH, and testosterone during the four seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter). Blood samples were collected once or twice each month, with an average of 5 rams. Hormonal assays were measured by using the chemiluminescent immunoenzymatic technique (CLIA). Our results revealed that the changes in the concentrations of all the studied hormones were not statistically significant between months or seasons (p>0.05), in addition to the total absence of a non-breeding season. These allow us to deduce that the effects of seasonality are minor to negligible, and consequently, the local rams seem to have a continuous sexual activity all year around in Southwestern Algeria.
