Adapting Sheep Production to Climate Change

Under the predicted conditions of climate change, the productivity of temperate grasslands may be affected by drought stress, especially in spring and summer. In this scenario, water-deficit-tolerant species such as plantain and chicory are interesting alternatives for use in sheep production systems. In this study, we compared a mixture of plantain and chicory herbage (PCH) with a grass-based permanent sward (GBS) on the weight gain and meat quality of lambs finished on these grasslands. Fifteen weaned lambs (31.3 kg and 4 months of age) were assigned to each treatment for seven weeks in late spring and live weight gain (LWG), carcass and meat quality were evaluated. There was a tendency (p = 0.09) in final weight (40.3 ± 0.8 kg) and live weight gain (173 ± 10 g/d) to be higher in PCH compared to GBS. Carcass weight, dressing percentage and meat quality in terms of pH, color and tenderness did not differ (p > 0.05) and were considered to be of good quality. We concluded that both swards result in comparable lamb performance and good meat quality.

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PERFORMANCE OF BARKI SHEEP PRODUCTION UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE CONDITIONS IN EGYPT

Journal of Environmental Science ◽

10.21608/jes.2018.20370 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 103-116

Author(s):

Bakry, E. A ◽

Metawi, H. R ◽

El-Sherbiny, A. M ◽

Abd-Elrazek, M. K ◽

El-Eraky, M. B ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Sheep Production

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Sheep Production Adapting to Climate Change

10.1007/978-981-10-4714-5 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Sheep Production

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Impact of Climatic Variability on Sheep Husbandry Practices at Lamjung District

Nepalese Veterinary Journal ◽

10.3126/nvj.v34i0.22916 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 34 ◽

pp. 135-143

Author(s):

S. Ghimire ◽

J.L. Yadav ◽

N.R. Devkota ◽

S. Singh

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climatic Variability ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Maximum Temperature ◽

Climate Data ◽

Adaptation Measures ◽

Average Change ◽

Household Interview ◽

Sheep Production ◽

Adaptation Practices

This study was done with 70 households of Uttarkanya and Bhujung VDC of Lamjung district to assess the impacts of climatic variability on sheep production and to document their adaptation practices to mitigate this variability. Household interview with structured-questionnaire were used to collect primary information, and secondary data was collected from District Livestock Service Office, Lamjung, Central Bureau of Statistics and Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. This study found that more than 80% of the farmer's perception about climatic parameters matched to those recorded by department of hydrology and meteorology. Similarly, the trend of sheep rearing in Lamjung district was found in decreasing whereas youths are least attracted to sheep farming, posing serious threat to the sustainability of sheep farming in the area. The study found that the climate change has affected sheep production and livelihood of farmers since many years. Analysis of climate data of Khudi region of Lamjung district showed increase in maximum temperature from 28.32°C to 28.63°C with an average change of 0.002°C per year and increase in minimum temperature from 15.03°C to 16.38°C with an average change of 0.015°C per year in past 20 years, resulting in hotter summer and warmer winter. Similarly, rainfall has shown decreasing trend associated with erratic patterns. Most important risk factor affecting sheep farming was increase in occurrence of different types of diseases due to climate change which was significantly different (P<0.01). Farmers perceived decreased availability of grasses and pasture species in most cases in comparison to 10 years ago which was statistically significant (P<0.01). Farmers have started adaptation measures that include shifting grazing zones to increase in access to pasture; preserve the forages and grasses for dry season; using regular vaccination and deworming against diseases and parasites; and constructed dipping tank to remove external parasites. These activities have helped sheep farming to adapt to climatic variability.

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Averting robo-bees: why free-flying robotic bees are a bad idea

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20190063 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (6) ◽

pp. 723-729

Author(s):

Roslyn Gleadow ◽

Jim Hanan ◽

Alan Dorin

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Computer Simulation ◽

Food Security ◽

European Countries ◽

Plant Interactions ◽

Plant Insect Interactions ◽

Native Habitat ◽

Insect Pollinators ◽

Insect Interactions

Food security and the sustainability of native ecosystems depends on plant-insect interactions in countless ways. Recently reported rapid and immense declines in insect numbers due to climate change, the use of pesticides and herbicides, the introduction of agricultural monocultures, and the destruction of insect native habitat, are all potential contributors to this grave situation. Some researchers are working towards a future where natural insect pollinators might be replaced with free-flying robotic bees, an ecologically problematic proposal. We argue instead that creating environments that are friendly to bees and exploring the use of other species for pollination and bio-control, particularly in non-European countries, are more ecologically sound approaches. The computer simulation of insect-plant interactions is a far more measured application of technology that may assist in managing, or averting, ‘Insect Armageddon' from both practical and ethical viewpoints.

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Modelling ecosystem adaptation and dangerous rates of global warming

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20180113 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 221-231 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Rebecca Millington ◽

Peter M. Cox ◽

Jonathan R. Moore ◽

Gabriel Yvon-Durocher

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Warming ◽

Diffusion Rate ◽

Individual Species ◽

Genetic Evolution ◽

Rates Of Change ◽

Rapid Climate Change ◽

Warming Climate ◽

Intraspecies Competition ◽

High Trait

Abstract We are in a period of relatively rapid climate change. This poses challenges for individual species and threatens the ecosystem services that humanity relies upon. Temperature is a key stressor. In a warming climate, individual organisms may be able to shift their thermal optima through phenotypic plasticity. However, such plasticity is unlikely to be sufficient over the coming centuries. Resilience to warming will also depend on how fast the distribution of traits that define a species can adapt through other methods, in particular through redistribution of the abundance of variants within the population and through genetic evolution. In this paper, we use a simple theoretical ‘trait diffusion’ model to explore how the resilience of a given species to climate change depends on the initial trait diversity (biodiversity), the trait diffusion rate (mutation rate), and the lifetime of the organism. We estimate theoretical dangerous rates of continuous global warming that would exceed the ability of a species to adapt through trait diffusion, and therefore lead to a collapse in the overall productivity of the species. As the rate of adaptation through intraspecies competition and genetic evolution decreases with species lifetime, we find critical rates of change that also depend fundamentally on lifetime. Dangerous rates of warming vary from 1°C per lifetime (at low trait diffusion rate) to 8°C per lifetime (at high trait diffusion rate). We conclude that rapid climate change is liable to favour short-lived organisms (e.g. microbes) rather than longer-lived organisms (e.g. trees).

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