1. Introductory Lecture

2. TERM PAPER  INFERTILITY IN FARM ANIMALS

3. Lecturers  O.M. Onagbesan  A.O. Ladokun  I.J. James  O.A. Osinowo

4. Defining Animal Reproduction  Animal reproduction: Process by which offspring are produced by male and female parents.  Involves heterosexual mating, conception, pregnancy, parturition and lactation.  Conception results from fusion of male and female gametes (i.e. spermatozoon and ovum), known as fertilization.  Animals must first attain reproductive age (puberty) before being capable of producing gametes.  Reproduction involves close coordination of various physiological events to be successful. This is usually achieved through the action of reproductive hormones.

5. Interdisciplinary nature of Animal reproduction  Proper understanding of animal reproduction requires knowledge in diverse fields such as: Reproductive physiology, endocrinology, environmental physiology, cell biology, immunology, genetics, biochemistry, sociology, reproductive diseases, psychology, embryology, obstetrics and so on.

6. Animal reproduction and economic livestock production  Livestock products such as milk and eggs are directly from reproductive processes.  Meat production depends on production of young animals (reproduction) for growing and fattening.  Profitability of livestock enterprise largely depends on reproductive efficiency.

7. Role of reproduction in genetic improvement  G y = SD * h 2 GI where SD = selection differential h 2 = heritability estimate, and GI = generation interval in years.