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Animals
Special Issues
Biomarkers of Stress in Animals
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Biomarkers of Stress in Animals

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Welfare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 4758

Special Issue Editors

Dr. María Dolores Contreras-Aguilar

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Guest Editor
Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Analysis of the University of Murcia (Interlab-UMU), Department of Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary School, Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Interests: biomarkers of health; behavioural experiment; salivary biomarkers; stress; animal welfare; behaviour; horse
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Damián Escribano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Analysis of the University of Murcia (Interlab-UMU), Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary School, Regional Campus of International Excellence Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
2. Department of Animal Production, Regional Campus of International Excellence ‘Campus Mare Nostrum’, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo S/N, Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Interests: behavioural experiment; behavioural analysis; stress; saliva; animal welfare; pigs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Marina López-Arjona

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Analysis of the University of Murcia (Interlab-UMU), Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary School, Regional Campus of International Excellence Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Interests: behavioural experiment; oxytocin; stress; saliva; hair; animal welfare; pigs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomarkers for evaluating stress have been gaining importance in animal science in the last several years, with many applications to monitor welfare and health in a broad number of species. There are some particular areas with growing interest, such as identifying new biomarkers by “omics” techniques and developing new, more robust, and sensitive assays for biomarker quantification. In addition to the use of blood, other easily accessible and non-invasive alternative samples such as saliva, milk, hair, urine, or feces that avoid pain, discomfort, or stress when they are obtained, are also of current interest. This Special Issue aims to bring together high-quality research regarding biomarkers to evaluate acute or chronic stress in any animal species. The research can be basic, such as discovering new biomarkers or the development of new assays, but can also be focused on applying traditional and/or new biomarkers in real-life situations.

Dr. María Dolores Contreras-Aguilar
Dr. Damián Escribano
Dr. Marina López-Arjona
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • stress biomarkers
  • non-invasive
  • welfare
  • distress
  • eustress
  • discomfort
  • acute stress
  • chronic stress
  • diseases
  • pain

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1209 KiB  
Article
Does Experience Make Hucul Horses More Resistant to Stress? A Pilot Study
by Jadwiga Topczewska, Wanda Krupa, Zofia Sokołowicz and Jadwiga Lechowska
Animals 2021, 11(12), 3345; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123345 - 24 Nov 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1379
Abstract
The aim of the study was to determine whether experience related to horse age and number of starts in championships influences stress level, measured by salivary cortisol concentration. The study involved 18 clinically healthy Hucul mares who participated in the Polish Championships for [...] Read more.
The aim of the study was to determine whether experience related to horse age and number of starts in championships influences stress level, measured by salivary cortisol concentration. The study involved 18 clinically healthy Hucul mares who participated in the Polish Championships for Hucul Horses. Evaluation of performance value was carried out in accordance with the guidelines specified in the breeding and genetic resources conservation program for this breed. The championship lasted two days, consisting of conformation evaluation, endurance, and Hucul path. Saliva was collected at baseline (T1), after arena assessment (T2), after endurance (T3), and on the second day after the Hucul path (T4). Cortisol levels increased from an average of 2.73 ± 1.18 ng/mL (T1) to 10.46 ± 8.03 ng/mL after T3. Significantly lower levels of free cortisol were detected in the saliva of the younger mares, up to 9 years old, and mares who participated in only one qualifying path after each element of the championship. The highest levels of cortisol (T3) were found in mares competing repeatedly on the qualifying path. No correlation was found between cortisol levels and the championship results. Participation of mares in the championship was associated with stress, which was reflected in the increase in cortisol levels in saliva. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomarkers of Stress in Animals)
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11 pages, 711 KiB  
Article
Assessing Allostatic Load in Ring-Tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta)
by Kathryn E. Seeley, Kathryn L. Proudfoot, Barbara Wolfe and Douglas E. Crews
Animals 2021, 11(11), 3074; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11113074 - 28 Oct 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2589
Abstract
Responses to stress are unavoidable, adaptive mechanisms in humans and non-human animals. However, in humans, chronic stress has been linked to poor health outcomes and early mortality. Allostatic load, the physiologic dysregulation that occurs when an organism is exposed to chronic stressors, has [...] Read more.
Responses to stress are unavoidable, adaptive mechanisms in humans and non-human animals. However, in humans, chronic stress has been linked to poor health outcomes and early mortality. Allostatic load, the physiologic dysregulation that occurs when an organism is exposed to chronic stressors, has been used to assess stress in humans; less work has been done using non-human primates. Our aim was to determine the relationship between allostatic load in ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) under human care and potentially stressful individual, social, medical and husbandry factors, as well a sex and age. An allostatic load index (ALI) was calculated for 38 lemurs using six biomarkers measured in serum (albumin, cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate, DNA damage, glucose and prostaglandin E2). Potentially stressful factors were recorded over the lifetime of each lemur using medical and husbandry records. Animals with a higher percentage of time spent indoors, those kept in smaller average group sizes, and those with fewer minor group composition changes had, or tended to have, higher ALI. There was no relationship between ALI and sex or age. Some social and husbandry factors were associated with allostatic load in lemurs, indicating that this index may be a useful tool in assessing and determining factors contributing to stress of lemurs and other animals under human care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomarkers of Stress in Animals)
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