Editorial

Abstract

With great pleasure the local organizing committee invites you to attend the 12th International Congress of the Spanish Association of Animal Reproduction (AERA), which will be held in Alicante from 16 October 2014 to 18 October 2014. This meeting is being organized by the Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery (Reproduction and Obstetrics) from the University of Murcia (Spain). Since its foundation in 1990, AERA meetings have provided an international forum to discuss the latest advances in the field of applied and basic research on animal reproduction, and their applications to clinical practice. The scientific programme of the 12th AERA Congress covers a wide variety of topics. The conference is organized in six plenary sessions, which will have eleven main lectures by distinguished research scientist, along with fifteen short oral communications selected from the submitted abstracts and two poster sessions. This supplement of Reproduction in Domestic Animals contains the manuscripts from the main lectures as well as 112 abstracts that will be presented either as short oral communications or as posters. Papers and abstracts have peer-reviewed as praxis by the Journal rules. We are confident that this supplement will provide a valuable resource for every one interested in animal reproduction. We would like to express our gratitude to all authors, especially the speakers of plenary sessions, for the great work they have put into their contributions and to the panel of external scientific reviewers for their labour. Special thanks go to Professor Heriberto Rodriguez-Martinez, Editor-in-Chief of Reproduction in Domestic Animals, for editing this supplement and for his active collaboration. We are also very grateful for the financial help of our generous sponsors and for the contribution of all members of AERA, which make this event possible. The conference venue at the Meliá Hotel in Alicante, a nice city at the south-east Mediterranean seacoast of Spain, is promising a great time. We hope that the quality of science, the friendly atmosphere and the social programme will stimulate scientific discussions and collaborations between participants. The local organizing committee welcomes you warmly to the city of Alicante and the 12th AERA Congress. Emilio A. Martinez Juan M. Vazquez Heriberto Rodriguez-Martinez Joan E. Rodriguez-Gil Mercedes Alvarez Emilio A. Martinez Jordi Roca Juan M. Vazquez Maria A. Gil Cristina Cuello Inmaculada Parrilla Xiomara Lucas Jose L. Vazquez Isabel Barranco Cristina Perez Cristina A. Martinez Alicia Nohalez Maria D. Ortega