4 Engineered Resilience in Livestock for Improved Animal Welfare

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Tawni N Williams ◽  
Angela R Green-Miller
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Genetic Selection ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Environmental Stressors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Resilience ◽  
Nutritional Programming ◽  
Livestock Species ◽  
Controlled Exposure

Abstract Welfare status for any species is dependent upon an animal’s ability to cope with its environment. Environmental conditions, animal husbandry, and overall health are major components that contribute to managing livestock species with quality animal welfare. Previous approaches intending to create more robust animals have applied genetic selection, nutritional programming, or advancements in facilities. Engineered resilience, the approach explored here, represents: (a) the ability to identify certain physiological biomarkers, behaviors, and environmental stressors that contribute to the individual’s response to a challenge; and (b) manipulate them in a targeted way with well-timed and controlled exposure to improve outcomes of a challenge to homeostasis (i.e. improve fitness with prior conditioning). Foundational understanding of natural adaptation in response to challenge reveals that some animals emerge from a challenge with greater coping abilities and others fail to thrive. By determining which animals have natural resilience and exploring the factors that created desired outcomes, scenarios can be identified to initiate resilience in susceptible animals. Such responses can then be stimulated through the development of managerial techniques. This project was conducted by reviewing published literature with the goal of identifying more refined areas of study for future research in engineered resilience in livestock species. Potential for application of this concept includes building thermal resilience, social resilience, and disease resilience.

scholarly journals Blind Trading: A Literature Review of Research Addressing the Welfare of Ball Pythons in the Exotic Pet Trade

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennah Green ◽  
Emma Coulthard ◽  
David Megson ◽  
John Norrey ◽  
Laura Norrey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Genetic Selection ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Veterinary Science ◽  
Pet Ownership ◽  
Pet Trade ◽  
Nutrition Environment ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Widespread Availability

Extensive numbers of Ball pythons are caught, bred, traded and subsequently kept in captivity across the world as part of the exotic pet industry. Despite their widespread availability as pets, relatively little is known about the potential welfare challenges affecting them. We reviewed the literature for research focused on the health and welfare of Ball pythons in the international pet trade. From a total of 88 articles returned from the search criteria, our analysis showed that very few actually focused on trade (10%) or animal welfare (17%). Instead, the majority (64%) of articles focused on veterinary science. There was a considerable bias towards physical health, with most studies neglecting the four other domains of animal welfare (behaviour, nutrition, environment and mental health). Furthermore, very few studies considered Ball pythons prior to resulting pet ownership, during wild capture and transportation or captive breeding operations. Our review demonstrates that our current understanding of welfare for Ball pythons traded as exotic pets is limited. We recommend that future research should focus on aspects of the industry that are currently overlooked, including the potential consequences of genetic selection during captive-breeding and the conditions provided for snakes prior to and during international transportation.

scholarly journals Application of YOLOv4 for Detection and Motion Monitoring of Red Foxes

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1723
Author(s):  
Anne K. Schütz ◽  
Verena Schöler  ◽  
E. Tobias Krause  ◽  
Mareike Fischer  ◽  
Thomas Müller  ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Early Recognition ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Automatic Detection ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Video Data ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Animal Activity

Animal activity is an indicator for its welfare and manual observation is time and cost intensive. To this end, automatic detection and monitoring of live captive animals is of major importance for assessing animal activity, and, thereby, allowing for early recognition of changes indicative for diseases and animal welfare issues. We demonstrate that machine learning methods can provide a gap-less monitoring of red foxes in an experimental lab-setting, including a classification into activity patterns. Therefore, bounding boxes are used to measure fox movements, and, thus, the activity level of the animals. We use computer vision, being a non-invasive method for the automatic monitoring of foxes. More specifically, we train the existing algorithm ‘you only look once’ version 4 (YOLOv4) to detect foxes, and the trained classifier is applied to video data of an experiment involving foxes. As we show, computer evaluation outperforms other evaluation methods. Application of automatic detection of foxes can be used for detecting different movement patterns. These, in turn, can be used for animal behavioral analysis and, thus, animal welfare monitoring. Once established for a specific animal species, such systems could be used for animal monitoring in real-time under experimental conditions, or other areas of animal husbandry.

SNF1-related protein kinase 1: the many-faced signaling hub regulating developmental plasticity in plants

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammed Jamsheer K ◽  
Manoj Kumar ◽  
Vibha Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Protein Trafficking ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Inositol Phosphate ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Primary Metabolism ◽  
Related Protein ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Cellular Processes

AbstractThe Snf1-related protein kinase 1 (SnRK1) is the plant homolog of the heterotrimeric AMP-activated protein kinase/sucrose non-fermenting 1 (AMPK/Snf1), which works as a major regulator of growth under nutrient-limiting conditions in eukaryotes. Along with its conserved role as a master regulator of sugar starvation responses, SnRK1 is involved in controlling the developmental plasticity and resilience under diverse environmental conditions in plants. In this review, through mining and analyzing the interactome and phosphoproteome data of SnRK1, we are highlighting its role in fundamental cellular processes such as gene regulation, protein synthesis, primary metabolism, protein trafficking, nutrient homeostasis, and autophagy. Along with the well-characterized molecular interaction in SnRK1 signaling, our analysis highlights several unchartered regions of SnRK1 signaling in plants such as its possible communication with chromatin remodelers, histone modifiers, and inositol phosphate signaling. We also discuss potential reciprocal interactions of SnRK1 signaling with other signaling pathways and cellular processes, which could be involved in maintaining flexibility and homeostasis under different environmental conditions. Overall, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the SnRK1 signaling network in plants and suggests many novel directions for future research.

scholarly journals A review on thin films, conducting polymers as sensor devices

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.L. Veera Prabakaran ◽  
K Senthil Vadivu ◽  
B Mouli Prasanth
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Future Perspectives ◽  
Thin Film Technology ◽  
Thin Film Sensors ◽  
Sensor Devices

Abstract Thin film sensors are used to monitor environmental conditions by measuring the physical parameters. By using thin film technology, the sensors are capable of conducting precise measurements. Moreover, the measurements are stable and dependable. Furthermore, inexpensive sensor devices can be produced. In this paper, thin film technology for the design and fabrication of sensors that are used in various applications is reviewed. Further, the applications of thin film sensors in the fields of biomedical, energy harvesting, optical, and corrosion applications are also presented. From the review, the future research needs and future perspectives are identified and discussed.

scholarly journals ‘Pre-Neolithic’ in Southeast Europe: a Bulgarian perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 95-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Gurova ◽  
Clive Bonsall
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Upper Palaeolithic ◽  
Southeast Europe ◽  
Site Distribution

 This paper discusses why large areas of the central and northern Balkans lack evidence of Mesolithic settlement and what implications this holds for future research into the Neolithization of the region. A marked shift in site distribution patterns between Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic is interpreted as a response to changing environmental conditions and resource availability. It is suggested that some important questions of the pattern, processes and timing of the transition to farming across the Balkan Peninsula may only be answered through new archaeological surveys of the Lower Danube valley and exploration of submerged landscapes along the Black Sea, Aegean and Adriatic coasts.

scholarly journals How Can We Assess Positive Welfare in Ruminants?

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattiello ◽  
Battini ◽  
De Rosa ◽  
Napolitano ◽  
Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Present Review ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Validity Evidence ◽  
Sampling Strategies ◽  
Qualitative Behaviour ◽  
Nutrition And Health ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
On Farm

Until now, most research has focused on the development of indicators of negative welfare, and relatively few studies provide information on valid, reliable, and feasible indicators addressing positive aspects of animal welfare. However, a lack of suffering does not guarantee that animals are experiencing a positive welfare state. The aim of the present review is to identify promising valid and reliable animal-based indicators for the assessment of positive welfare that might be included in welfare assessment protocols for ruminants, and to discuss them in the light of the five domains model, highlighting possible gaps to be filled by future research. Based on the existing literature in the main databases, each indicator was evaluated in terms of its validity, reliability, and on-farm feasibility. Some valid indicators were identified, but a lot of the validity evidence is based on their absence when a negative situation is present; furthermore, only a few indicators are available in the domains of Nutrition and Health. Reliability has been seldom addressed. On-farm feasibility could be increased by developing specific sampling strategies and/or relying on the use of video- or automatic-recording devices. In conclusion, several indicators are potentially available (e.g., synchronisation of lying and feeding, coat or fleece condition, qualitative behaviour assessment), but further research is required.

Haematobium irritans and Haematobium titillans as potential vectors of Parabronema skrjabini in camels (Camelus bactrianus) in Inner Mongolia, China

Parasitology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (13) ◽  
pp. 1509-1514
Author(s):  
Yang Liu ◽  
Zhiguo Zhao ◽  
Xiaoye Yang ◽  
Lianru Yang ◽  
Bo Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Morphological Observation ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit ◽  
Nematode Larvae ◽  
History Of ◽  
Horn Flies

AbstractParabronema skrjabini is one of the most harmful nematodes to camels and is responsible for economic losses in animal husbandry industry. There is an urgent need for in-depth studies of potential vectors of the nematode due to its scant regarding information. As previous studies indicated that flies may be the vectors of P. skrjabini, we captured flies in the main camel-producing areas of Inner Mongolia. After autopsy of the specimens of two species of horn flies, we observed the morphology of the suspected nematode larvae found in them. Internal transcribed spacer ribosomal-DNA gene sequences were considered the best candidate to confirm the species of the larvae found. Our results showed that the homology compared with P. skrjabini was 99.5% in GenBank. Subsequently, we preliminarily identified two species of horn flies through morphological observation and then sequenced the mitochondrial-DNA-gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I obtained from two species of horn flies, with 100 and 99.2% similarity to sequences deposited in GenBank, respectively. Thus, we identified Haematobia titillans and Haematobia irritans and provided evidence for their potential role as vectors of parabronemosis. Our study provides reference for future research on the life history of the nematode and the vectors of parabronemosis.

scholarly journals Should Dairy Cattle Be Trained to a Virtual Fence System as Individuals or in Groups?

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1767
Author(s):  
Patricia I. Colusso ◽  
Cameron E. F. Clark ◽  
Sabrina Lomax
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Group Training ◽  
Adverse Impacts ◽  
Holstein Friesian ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Individual Training ◽  
Friesian Cows

Pre-commercial virtual fence (VF) neckbands (eShepherd®, Agersens, Melbourne, Vic, Australia) can contain cows within a designated area without the need for physical fencing, through associative learning of a paired audio tone and electrical pulse. Cattle are gregarious, so there may be an impact of herd mates on the learning process. To evaluate this, a VF was set 30 m down one of three test paddocks with a feed attractant 70 m past the VF. Twenty-three Holstein-Friesian cows were all fitted with VF neckbands and trained as individuals or in groups (5–6) for four 10 min tests; then, cows were crossed over to the alternate context for two more 10 min tests. The number of cows breaking through the VF and the number of paired stimuli reduced across time (from 82% to 26% and 45% to 14%, respectively, p < 0.01). Cows trained in a group (88%) were more likely to interact with the VF in the crossover compared to those trained as individuals (36%) (p < 0.01), indicating an influence of group members on individual cow response. Individual training is impractical, therefore, future research should evaluate group training protocols ensuring all cows learn the VF to avoid any adverse impacts on animal welfare.

scholarly journals Economic impact of cross compliance in the field of animal welfare (Acts C18 and C16)

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1s) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisanna Speroni ◽  
Maurizio Capelletti ◽  
Antonio Bruni ◽  
Luigi Degano
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Market Prices ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Public Grant ◽  
Cattle Farms ◽  
Cross Compliance

The paper reports the results of assessment of animal welfare at farm level on two dairy cattle farms, identification of structural and management actions to improve the animal welfare and estimate of the costs of such actions; furthermore the economic impact of the potential support under measure 215 of the Rural Development Plan was also simulated. At the time of assessment, no severe break of compliance was detected at the two farms; however some weaknesses were identified and improvement were proposed in order to maintain the current animal welfare status and avoid future failures. The two use cases showed that investments to improve animal welfare were partly self funded in the mid and long term due to the higher milk yield and the better animal health that were expected as consequence; however, in the short term, a large part of expenses was fully borne by farmers if not supported by a public grant or higher market prices. The support provided by the measure 215 is effective in rewarding farmers who undertake to adopt standards of animal husbandry which go beyond the relevant mandatory standards.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document