Preface

Today, global food protein demand is moving from plant-based proteins to animalbased proteins. It is expected that the requirement for animal-based foods will soon almost double. As such, enhancing the reproduction potential of animals and applying reproductive biotechnological techniques have great importance in the sustainability of terrestrial and aquatic animal production.

Reproductive biotechnology is a technology that develops animal production by improving the reproductive inadequacy of animals by different techniques. Nowadays, different assisted-reproductive tools have been developing and evolving to obtain many offspring from genetically superior terrestrial and aquatic animals. Hence, this book highlights the reproductive strategies and important practices in the reproduction of terrestrial and aquatic animals. It is divided into five sections and eight chapters written by experts in their specialized fields.

Section 1, "Overview of Animal Reproduction", provides a snapshot of reproduction strategies and biotechnologies in terrestrial and aquatic animals.

Section 2, "Reproductive Techniques in Terrestrial Animals", includes three chapters. The first chapter, "Cryopreservation Methods and Frontiers in the Art of Freezing Life in Animal Models", emphasizes the reasons for the conservation of animal genetic resources and cryopreservation biotechnology with all aspects in terrestrial animals. The second chapter, "Embryo Transfer", describes the methodology of embryo transfer in terrestrial animals. The third chapter, "Doppler Ultrasound in the Reproduction of Mares", covers the examination of reproductive systems via ultrasonography with emphasis on blood flow in mares.

Section 3, "Reproductive Techniques in Aquatic Animals", includes one chapter entitled "Cryopreservation and Its Application in Aquaculture," which describes the importance of aquaculture and the structure of cryopreservation biotechnology for aquatic animals.

Section 4, "Reproduction in Avian Species", includes one chapter entitled "Avian Reproduction," which describes avian species and their reproduction peculiarities.

Section 5, "Reproduction in Aquatic Animals", includes two chapters. The first chapter, "Stimulatory Effects of Androgens on Eel Primary Ovarian Development - from Phenotypes to Genotypes", covers artificial maturation and ovarian development by applying androgen as a stimulator. The second chapter, "Intraovarian Gestation in Viviparous Teleosts: Unique Type of Gestation among Vertebrates", debates the structure of intraovarian gestation in viviparous teleosts.

This book addresses different topics regarding the reproduction of terrestrial and aquatic animals. It is a useful resource for researchers studying in this field. We would like to thank all the authors for their distinguished contributions, as well as Author Service Manager Ms. Paula Gavran at IntechOpen for her cooperation at various phases of the publication process.

> **Yusuf Bozkurt** İskenderun Technical University, İskenderun, Hatay, Türkiye

### **Mustafa Numan Bucak**

Selçuk University, Konya, Türkiye Section 1
