PRECISION OF THE COULTER(R) COUNTER FOR ROUTINE ASSESSMENT OF BOAR-SPERM CONCENTRATION IN COMPARISON WITH THE HEMOCYTOMETER AND SPECTROPHOTOMETER

Semen samples were taken randomly from the sperm-rich fraction of 57 e jaculates from 55 fertile Norwegian Landrace boars that were in routin e liquid-semen AI service. The semen concentration was assessed using three different methods (haemocytometer, spectrophotometer, and Coulte r(R) counter). To determine the precision of each method, the measurem ent of the same sample was repeated three times. The coefficient of va riation (within) CVW was assessed as 12.3% for the haemocytometer, 2.9 % for the spectrophotometer, and 2.3% for the Coulter(R) counter. The linear functional errors-in-variables model was used for the estimatio n of the relationships between the three comparisons. It is concluded that the Coulter(R) counter is useful for routine assessment of boar s perm concentration: being very precise and rapid, the method allows me asurement of a large number of samples within a short time.