This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for 1998. This fellowship supports research and training in the area of animal physiology and conservation biology. The research and training plan is entitled the physiology of compromised gamete production. Many of the 37 species within the Felidae family consistently ejaculate high proportions of subfertile sperm. Although much is known about why abnormally-shaped or even normal-appearing sperm from teratospermic cats fail to fertilize oocytes, virtually nothing is known about the physiological factors leading to ejaculation of compromised sperm. This project investigates the endocrine, testicular and epididymal mechanisms leading to the production of abnormal sperm. Because a number of members of this family are endangered, this information may be useful in wildlife conservation and management.
