Heat stress: impact on livestock well-being and productivity and mitigation strategies to alleviate the negative effects

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 1404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay S. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Body Weight Gain ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Carcass Composition ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Animal Products ◽  
Livestock Productivity

Heat stress (HS) is a multi-factorial problem that negatively affects livestock health and productivity and is closely linked with animal welfare. While HS may not be harmful when animals are able to adapt, the physiological changes that occur to ensure survival may impede the efficient conversion of feed energy into animal products. This adaptive response can be variable and is often based on previous HS exposure, genetics, species and production stage. When the heat load becomes too great for adaptive responses to compensate, the subsequent strain response causes reduced productivity and well-being and, in severe cases, mortality. The effects of HS on livestock productivity are well documented and range from decreased feed intake and body weight gain, to reduced reproductive efficiency and altered carcass composition and meat quality. In addition, researchers are beginning to elucidate the effects of prenatal HS on postnatal livestock performance and welfare. As knowledge of the negative impacts of HS on livestock performance and welfare increases, so will the development of effective mitigation strategies to support maintenance of productivity during times of high thermal heat loads and preserve appropriate animal welfare standards.

scholarly journals Towards Heat Stress Management in Small Ruminants – A Review

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amani Al-Dawood
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Small Ruminants ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Natural Immunity ◽  
Animal Products ◽  
Sheep And Goats ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Hot Climate ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Small ruminants (sheep and goats) play a predominant role in the economy of million people, and have provided meat, milk, skin, wool and fiber for centuries. Animals undergo various kinds of stressors, i.e. physical, nutritional, chemical, psychological and heat stress (HS). Among all, HS is the most concerning at present in the ever-changing climatic scenario. Climate change is the most serious long-term challenge faced by small ruminants’ owners worldwide. HS results in decreased growth, reproduction, production, milk quantity and quality, as well as natural immunity, making animals more vulnerable to diseases, and even death. Thus, HS results in great economic losses, emphasizing the necessity to objectively assess animal welfare. The increasing demand for animal products paralleled by the frequent hot climate is a serious threat for the agriculture sector. The ability of sheep and goats to cope with HS without harming their welfare and productive performance has been often overrated. To date, little attention has been paid to comprehensive detailed data on the adverse effect of HS on sheep and goats. Therefore, this review discusses in detail the sheep and goats’ behavioral, physiological, molecular/cellular, hematological, biochemical and immunological responses under HS conditions. In addition, this review also presents the adverse effects of HS on reproduction and fertility, milk quantity and quality, feed intake, and water consumption of sheep and goats. Finally, this review suggests various methods for HS alleviation. In conclusion, HS impairs productivity and well-being in sheep and goats. The improved understanding of the impact of HS on small ruminants will help in developing management techniques to alleviate HS and highlighting the need for future researches on HS in sheep and goats.

scholarly journals The Mindful Body: A Phenomenology of the Body With Multiple Sclerosis

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (14) ◽  
pp. 2239-2249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanneke van der Meide ◽  
Truus Teunissen ◽  
Pascal Collard ◽  
Merel Visse ◽  
Leo H Visser
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Body Experience ◽  
Phenomenology Of The Body ◽  
Health And Illness

For people living with multiple sclerosis (MS), one’s own body may no longer be taken for granted but may become instead an insistent presence. In this article, we describe how the body experience of people with MS can reflect an ongoing oscillation between four experiential dimensions: bodily uncertainty, having a precious body, being a different body, and the mindful body. People with MS can become engaged in a mode of permanent bodily alertness and may demonstrate adaptive responses to their ill body. In contrast to many studies on health and illness, our study shows that the presence of the body may not necessarily result in alienation or discomfort. By focusing the attention on the body, a sense of well-being can be cultivated and the negative effects of MS only temporarily dominate experience. Rather than aiming at bodily dis-appearance, health care professionals should therefore consider ways to support bodily eu-appearance.

scholarly journals Effects of air temperature on physiology and productive performance of pigs during growing and finishing phases

1970 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 627-635
Author(s):  
R.F. Oliveira ◽  
R.H.R. Moreira ◽  
M.L.T. Abreu ◽  
M.P. Gionbelli ◽  
A.O. Teixeira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Carcass Composition ◽  
Experimental Unit ◽  
Productive Performance ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Randomized Block Design ◽  
Final Weight

Thirty-six castrated male pigs were used to determine the influence of thermal environment and reduction of consumption on performance and carcass composition. Animals were housed in two climate chambers. In one, animals were in thermal comfort (TN) (22 °C), and in the other, pigs were under heat stress (HS) (34 °C). Animals were distributed in a randomized block design, making three treatments (TN, HS and animals in thermal comfort with food consumption paired with that observed in HS (PFTN)), with six replicates and two animals per experimental unit. Data were obtained on performance and carcass composition. The weight gains of HS and PFTN animals were reduced by 40.5% and 34.7%, respectively, reflecting a reduction of 13.2% in the final weight of PFTN animals. Triiodothyronine concentration was not affected by heat, but there was an increase in lymphocyte numbers in PFTN animals. The HS and PFTN animals showed lower hot carcass weight. However, there were no effects on hot carcass yield and relative weights of heart, lung and spleen. Heat stress compromised performance. The negative effects of high temperature on pigs include reduction in feed intake and changes in physiology.Keywords: Environment, heat stress, pair feed, pig growth, pig production

scholarly journals The Impact of Anthropogenic Climate Change on Egyptian Livestock Production

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3127
Author(s):  
Amira A. Goma ◽  
Clive J. C. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Heat Stress ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Animal Products ◽  
Alternative Scenarios ◽  
The Impact

Egypt is one of the hottest countries in the world, and extreme climate events are becoming more frequent, which is consistent with the warming of the planet. The impact of this warming on ecosystems is severe, including on livestock production systems. Under Egyptian conditions, livestock already suffer heat stress periods in summer. The predicted increases in temperature as result of climate change will affect livestock production by reducing growth and milk production because of appetite suppression and conception rate reductions and will increase animal welfare concerns. In severe cases, these effects can result in death. We review the heat stress effects on livestock behaviour, reproduction, and production in the context of predicted climate change for Egypt over the course of this century and offer alternative scenarios to achieve food security for a growing human population. As an example, we combine predictions for reduced milk production during heat stress and human population trajectories to predict that milk availability per person will decline from 61 kg/year in 2011 to 26 kg/year in 2064. Mitigation strategies are discussed and include the substitution of animal-based foods for plant-based foods and laboratory-grown animal products.

scholarly journals Environmental source of stress in livestock productivity - a study of Minna climate data

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sikiru Babatunde ◽  
Egena Acheneje ◽  
Alemede Comfort ◽  
Makinde John
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Heat Stress ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Stress Genes ◽  
Temperature Humidity Index ◽  
Humidity Index ◽  
Livestock Productivity ◽  
The Tropics

Stress emanating from environment is a factor limiting livestock productivity in the Tropics because of elevated temperature year round; hence this study took a look at Minna climate data for evaluation of Temperature-Humidity- Index (THI) as a way of identifying climate source of stress on livestock production. Climate Normals for Minna between years 1961 and 2018 were obtained, and the data were analyzed using general formulae for calculating Temperature-Humidity-Index for livestock production. Relationships between production parameters on commercial farms and the THI data indicated that heat stress is a potential cause of oxidative stress in the area. The THI showed that the environmental conditions in the study area has potential for heat stress on animals, and that it can aggravate oxidative stress in livestock under production in the study area, hence there is need for further studies to identify the pathophysiological mechanisms of heat stress so as to develop mitigation strategies for improved animal performance and productivity. The study suggested that instead of the penchant for importing exotic breeds of livestock with the aim of upgrading the indigenous breeds, the way forward could be the utilization of genetic expression of heat and oxidative stress genes in animals as candidate markers for improvement of their productive potentials.

scholarly journals 380 Precision Management of Animals: Image Processing and Computer Vision Applications

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. 137-137
Author(s):  
Isabella Condotta
Keyword(s):  
Image Processing ◽  
Computer Vision ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Animal Products ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Precision Management ◽  
Effective Use

Abstract Growing populations, rising wealth, and urbanization are translating into increased demand for animal products, which causes a need for rapid intensification of production. With that, economic pressures mount on animal producers, who are forced to increase herds’ sizes in order to be commercially feasible, limiting time of interaction with their animals. In contrast, society is demanding closer attention to the needs of individual animals and their well-being, and reduction of the environmental impact of animal production. Paying closer attention to the animal can not only positively impact animal welfare and health, but also increase the capacity of the producer to increase sustainability while still reaching production needs. That’s when Precision Management of Animals (PMA) becomes necessary: The animals become central to the system and, by automatically interpreting their behavior and physical conditions through principles and technologies of process engineering, it is possible to generate data that feeds real-time monitoring and warning systems for producers, so they can take immediate management actions when needed. This leads to better management choices that are not driven only on profits, but, instead, on the needs of the animals and their care, which leads to a more effective use of resources, including antibiotics, grains, and water; improvement of animal welfare; and a data stream that can help guide new facility designs, and genetic evaluation and selection. Image processing and computer vision are examples of technologies that have been used as non-invasive methods of data collection in swine production with multiple purposes, including weight prediction, water usage, aggressive behaviors recognition, detection of lying patterns to evaluate thermal environment, localization of animals, locomotion assessment, behavior classification, gait assessment, animal measurement, and animal counting. When coupled with novel machine learning models, they seem to be a promising approach to solve the existent problems with PMA systems development.

scholarly journals O7E.5 New initiatives in international collaboration for describing the occupational heat hazards via epidemiological studies and modelling

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A69.2-A69
Author(s):  
Jason Lee
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Scientific Committee ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Heat Management ◽  
Excessive Heat ◽  
Fluid Ingestion ◽  
The Impact

The negative effects of heat stress on work tolerance are well known. In order to optimise exercise tolerance in the heat, various physiological strategies can be employed to alter heat strain such as optimising work-rest cycles, maximising aerobic fitness, heat acclimatisation, pre-exercise cooling and fluid ingestion. In order to optimise workers’ health and productivity in the heat, there is an urgent need for collaborative efforts across various disciplines. A holistic heat management programme requires accurate quantification of the impact due to heat stress before formulating and evaluating the eventual heat mitigation strategies. The International Commission on Occupational Health Scientific Committee on Thermal Factors can serve as an effective platform for dedicated scientists to network and for active research and analysis specific to protection of working people from excessive heat and cold exposures in current and future work environments, including analysis of climate change impact and mitigation analysis. This platform will enable members of Scientific Committee of Thermal Factors to become co-authors on reports in major scientific journals, to collaborate across country boundaries, to get recognition for their own research work, and to be part of future funded global activities.

scholarly journals 381 Investigation of heat stress on differential gene expression in tolerant and susceptible pigs

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 144-144
Author(s):  
Yuqing He ◽  
Christian Maltecca ◽  
Francesco Tiezzi ◽  
Billy Flowers
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Sperm Count ◽  
Body Weight Gain ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Semen Parameters ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Stress Genes ◽  
Important Trait ◽  
Differential Gene

Abstract Heat stress adversely affects pig growth and reproduction performance by reducing feed intake, body weight gain, farrowing rate, and litter size. Heat tolerance is an important trait in pigs, allowing them to mitigate the negative effects of heat stress on their physiological activities. Yet, genetic variation and signaling pathways associated with the biological processes of pigs tolerant to heat stress are currently not fully understood. This study aimed at identifying differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs of pigs under different heat-stress environments using whole transcriptomic RNA-seq analyses. RNA was isolated from blood samples of boars (n = 12) collected at two time points (late winter and middle summer) and labeled as pre-stress when subjected to no heat-stress, and stress when subjected to heat stress for 2 months. Semen parameters, including sperm count, motility, normal morphology, droplets, and rejected ejaculate rate, were measured for boar classification into either tolerant or susceptible to the heat stress. Genes displayed different expression levels between susceptible and tolerant pigs under pre-stress, and stress period respectively. A total of 692 DE genes (654 down-regulated, 38 up-regulated) were found in susceptible pigs compared to tolerant pigs during the pre-stress period. A total of 724 DE genes (622 down-regulated, 62 up-regulated) were found in susceptible pigs compared to tolerant pigs during the heat stress period. Heat stress showed greater effects in significant transcript expression (FDR < 0.05) among susceptible pigs than tolerant pigs with 88 DE genes (51 down-regulated, 37 up-regulated) and 5 DE genes (1 down-regulated, 4 up-regulated), respectively. This study contributed to the expression profiles of transcripts and the exploration of novel genes in pigs responding to heat stress.

scholarly journals Comparison of growth performance and immune responses of broiler chicks reared under heat stress, cold stress and thermoneutral conditions

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Olfati ◽  
Ali Mojtahedin ◽  
Tayebeh Sadeghi ◽  
Mohsen Akbari ◽  
Felipe Martínez-Pastor
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Cold Stress ◽  
Growth Performance ◽  
Broiler Chickens ◽  
Body Weight Gain ◽  
Broiler Chicks ◽  
Feed Conversion ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Humoral Immune

This study was conducted to compare the effects of thermal stress on growth performance and some immunity variables of broiler chickens. Birds were randomly assigned to one of three thermal treatments as follows: cold stress (CS, 12±1°C), (b) heat stress (HS, 33±3 °C) and (c) thermoneutral (TN, 24±2 °C). Body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), water intake (WI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were recorded. In order to evaluate the primary and secondary humoral immune responses, two birds per replicate were intravenously administrated with a suspension of 7% sheep red blood cell (SRBC) at 28 and 35 days. The heat-stressed broiler chickens had lower FI (-14.90%), BWG (-25.71%) and higher FCR (+13.06%) in comparison to broiler chickens reared under TN condition (p<0.001) from 1 to 42 days of age. The cold-stressed broiler chickens showed lower FI (-22.05%), BWG (-38.32%) and higher FCR (+22.47%) in comparison to birds reared under TN conditions (p<0.001). Stressed birds (CS and HS) showed decreased antibody titer against SRBC, lymphocyte count and the relative weights of lymphoid organs and increased heterophil count, heterophil to lymphocyte ratio and the serum concentration of corticosterone, in comparison to birds in TN group (p<0.001). In conclusion, HS and CS conditions have similar negative effects on performance and immunity of broiler chickens.

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