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Physiological Indices and Behavioural Indicators for the Evaluation of Animal Health and Welfare under the Changing Climate Scenarios

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 6094

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Daniela Alberghina

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Guest Editor

Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Interests: animal welfare; hormones; stress
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Giacoma Brancato

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Guest Editor Assistant

Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Interests: animal welfare; climate change; non-invasive monitoring; behavioral indicators

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Farm animals, particularly rapidly growing and high-producing livestock, are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, partly because their internal heat load is already high. However, there is a dearth of scientific information regarding the adaption of livestock production to the changing climate. Therefore, it is essential to develop monitoring methods of specific parameters (body temperature detection, locomotory activity detection, heart and respiratory rate activity, and the non-invasive dosage of hormones) which change in thermal stress conditions. Each animal species is characterized by its own ethogram, a catalogue that describes different behaviours based on the stimuli it receives. Recent studies have shown that environmental temperature increases influence social, aggressive, and explorative behaviours. This Special Issue focuses on tools (including behaviour, physiology, health, emotion, molecular activity, productive performance, etc.) and techniques (biosensor technologies, remote behavioural monitoring, and complex systems’ data analysis) for animal physiology and behaviour surveillance to incorporate animal data with relevant climate conditions. The development and application of methodologies to link climate data with health surveillance systems should be implemented to improve the prevention of diseases as well as the mitigation and adaptation responses of animals to climate change.

Dr. Daniela Alberghina
Guest Editor

Giacoma Brancato
Guest Editor Assistant

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

heat stress
climate change
health
welfare

Related Special Issue

Physiological Indices and Behavioural Indicators for the Evaluation of Animal Health and Welfare under the Changing Climate Scenarios—Second Edition in Animals

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 1815 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of the Individual and Pair Housing of Calves on Long-Term Heifer Production on a UK Commercial Dairy Farm

by Sophie A. Mahendran, D. Claire Wathes, Richard E. Booth and Nicola Blackie

Animals 2024, 14(1), 125; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14010125 - 29 Dec 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 900

Abstract

Pair housing of pre-weaning dairy calves has previously demonstrated positive impacts on their growth, health and behaviour, but longer-term effects on production are still relatively unknown. This study followed a cohort of 431 Holstein heifers, recruited from a single UK commercial dairy farm, from weaning until either culling or the end of their first lactation. All animals were allocated to either individual or pair housing as a pre-weaning calf. Following weaning, all heifers were similarly managed through group housing, feeding with total mixed rations, the use of automatic heat detection for artificial insemination and weighing every two months until conception. Farm staff identified disease occurrences, which were treated following standard operating procedures. First-lactation monthly milk recording was used to measure milk yields and somatic cell counts. Overall mortality (voluntary and involuntary) was 26.6%, with a decreased hazard of exiting the herd if the heifer was pair housed as a calf (HR 0.70; p = 0.067). The voluntary cull rate was highest in the post-insemination period (13.0%) due to poor fertility. Heifers that were pair housed as calves had significantly increased odds of developing udder health issues as a primiparous cow (OR = 1.93, p = 0.022). Despite this, the 305-day milk yields were not associated with the housing group. However, the total milk produced per calf recruited into the original study was greater for pair-housed compared with individually housed calves (8088 kg vs. 7115 kg; p = 0.071), which is likely due to the significantly higher hazard of individually housed calves exiting the herd prematurely. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological Indices and Behavioural Indicators for the Evaluation of Animal Health and Welfare under the Changing Climate Scenarios)

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11 pages, 318 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Promotion of Pregnant Merino Ewes’ Welfare with the Introduction of a Drought- and High-Temperature-Resistant Cereal into Their Diet: Analysis of Tritordeum Meadow

by Estrella I. Agüera, Lucía Requena, María B. García-Moreno, Manuel A. Pérez-Priego and Francisco Requena

Animals 2023, 13(19), 3155; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13193155 - 9 Oct 2023

Viewed by 1003

Abstract

Tritordeum is a new cereal resistant to drought and high temperatures, and it is a very healthy crop. The aim of this study was to compare two different diets (tritordeum meadow vs. oat meadow) for grazing pregnant ewes to determine if there was any effect on the objective physiological indicators of animal welfare. A total of 150 pregnant Merino ewes (3–5 years) were randomly divided into two groups (n = 75 each) to be fed with two different meadows, being evaluated during the spring season. Red blood cells count, haemoglobin, packed cell volume, white blood cell count, neutrophiles/lymphocytes ratio, lactate dehydrogenase, creatinine phosphokinase, aspartate aminotransferase, glucose, cortisol, total plasma proteins, albumin, globulins, albumin/globulins ratio, alkaline phosphatase, glutamate dehydrogenase, IgA, and IgG were determined. Overall, the results of this study indicate that the welfare of pregnant ewes fed with tritordeum meadow was better than that of pregnant ewes fed with oat meadow. Tritordeum meadow had a positive influence on the physiological parameters of animal welfare studied in pregnant Merino ewes. Therefore, tritordeum meadow can be considered a functional feed, as it has a beneficial effect on health beyond its basic nutritional value. Farmers are recommended to feed a cereal such as tritordeum grassland to their sheep, as it not only ensures that the animals benefit from all the nutrients, but also prevents diseases and improves their quality of life. In addition, the cereal’s resistance to fungal diseases makes it suitable for use in sustainable production systems with a reduced environmental footprint. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological Indices and Behavioural Indicators for the Evaluation of Animal Health and Welfare under the Changing Climate Scenarios)

10 pages, 639 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Heat Stress Effects on Physiological and Blood Parameters, and Behavior in Early Fattening Stage of Beef Steers

by Won-Seob Kim, Jalil Ghassemi Nejad, Keun-Kyu Park and Hong-Gu Lee

Animals 2023, 13(7), 1130; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13071130 - 23 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1800

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of heat stress (HS) on physiological, blood, and behavioral parameters, according to the temperature–humidity index (THI), in beef steers. Twelve Korean native beef steers (342.7 ± 13.81 days old, body weight (BW) of 333.0 ± 18.53 kg) were used in this experiment. Beef steers were randomly distributed into three homogenized groups (four beef steers each) for 14 days, namely, threshold (THI = 64–71), mild–moderate (THI = 72–79), and severe (THI = 80–87). Feed and water intake were recorded daily. Physiological parameters, including heart rate and rectal temperature, and behavioral patterns (standing and lying down) were measured weekly. Blood was sampled every week to analyze hormones, heat shock protein (HSP) levels, metabolites, and hematological parameters. All data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis. Beef steers exposed to severe THI had significantly increased (p < 0.001) water intake, heart rate, and rectal temperature compared to the threshold and mild–moderate THI beef steers. Additionally, increased blood cortisol (p < 0.001), HSP70 (p < 0.001), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (p = 0.014), and time spent standing (p < 0.001) were observed in beef steers after exposure to severe THI compared to beef steers in the threshold and mild–moderate THI groups. However, dry matter intake, blood glucose, and non-esterified fatty acids were not different among the THI groups. In conclusion, heart rate, rectal temperature, blood cortisol, HSP70, BUN, and time spent standing were closely associated with severe HS conditions in beef steers. These phenomena indicated that beef steers exposed to HS modulated their behavior and blood parameters, as well as their physiological response, to maintain homeostasis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological Indices and Behavioural Indicators for the Evaluation of Animal Health and Welfare under the Changing Climate Scenarios)

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15 pages, 2890 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Macleaya cordata Extract on Blood Biochemical Indices and Intestinal Flora in Heat-Stressed Mice

by Mingcan Wang, Xiuqiong Huang, Yisong Liu and Jianguo Zeng

Animals 2022, 12(19), 2589; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12192589 - 28 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1707

Abstract

Heat stress (HS) leads to disturbance of homeostasis and gut microbiota. Macleaya cordata extract (MCE) has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and gut health maintenance properties. Still, the specific effects of MCE on blood biochemical indices and gut microbiota homeostasis in heat-stressed mice are not entirely understood. This study aimed to investigate the impact of MCE on blood biochemical indices and gut microbiota in heat-stressed mice. A control group (CON) (25 °C, n = 6) and HS group (42 °C, n = 6) were gavaged with normal saline 0.2 mL/g body weight/day, and HS plus MCE group (HS-MCE) (42 °C, n = 6) was gavaged with 5 mg MCE/kg/day. HS (2 h/d) on 8–14 d. The experiment lasted 14 days. The results showed that HS increased mice’ serum aspartate transaminase, alanine transferase activities, heat shock protein 70 level, and malondialdehyde concentrations, and decreased serum catalase and superoxide dismutase activities. HS also disrupted microbiota diversity and community structure in mice, increasing the Bacteroidetes and decreasing Firmicutes and Lactobacillus; however, MCE can alleviate the disturbance of biochemical indicators caused by HS and regulate the flora homeostasis. Furthermore, MCE was able to moderate HS-induced metabolic pathways changes in gut microbiota. The Spearman correlation analysis implied that changes in serum redox status potentially correlate with gut microbiota alterations in HS-treated mice. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological Indices and Behavioural Indicators for the Evaluation of Animal Health and Welfare under the Changing Climate Scenarios)

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