Zebu-type cattle are not only more heat-tolerant than

their European counterparts, but also the semen of bulls

wi t h z e b u b l o o d i s l e s s af f e c t e d b y ho t e nv i r o nm e nt . I n
one experiment (Table 9-27). zebu and European crossbred
bulls suffered less loss of semen quality clue to heat stress
t han di d H ol stei n or Br o wn Swi ss b ul l s. T he stre ss
c om prised seven clays of a daily cycle of thermal
environment between 40ºC with 54 percent relative
humidity and 28 t C with 72 percent. Mean maximum and
minimum daily temperatures during the three weeks prior
to brat stress were 1 8 º C a n d 5 º C . a n d d u r i n g t h e n i n e
w e e k s a f t e r , 2 1 ° C and 8ºC.
Climatic differences wit hin N orth America lead t o
di f f e r e nc e s i n seaso n al e f f e c t s o n b ul l f e rt i l i t y. In de e d,
at latitudes of 40 º or greater, it has been found that bull
f e r t i l i t y i s hi ghe st dur i ng sum m e r and f al l ( T ab l e s 9 . 2 8
and 9 - 29) . T he si t uat io n is diff ere nt, ho wev er, i n are as
where effective environmental temperature is higher.
For instance, at Baton Rouge, Louisiana — in a subtropical
r e gi o n— bo t h seme n qualit y and fe rt il it y were lo we st i n
summer , and presum abl y due t o a del aye d eff ect o f ho t
weather, fall (Table 9.30) While the cow's contribution to
i nfer ti li ty was no t r em ove d fr om t he se dat a, it was
ac counted for in a study of the fertility of Ohio bulls
(Table 9-4). Fertility dropped more quickly with aging in the
frozen state in semen collected during hot Ohio summer
weather