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Climate Change and Livestock: Identification of Early Biomarkers of Heat Stress in a Changing Climate

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 11031

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Martina Zappaterra

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Guest Editor

Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Interests: animal genetics; animal breeding; animal science; fat; animal production; pig breeding; meat quality

Special Issue Information

Climate change has been recognized as the most challenging issue humankind has ever experienced, and global warming threatens ecosystems, animal species diversity, and food security.

Prolonged droughts and more intense heat waves will cause thermal discomfort in livestock species, with consequences on animal welfare, performance, reproductive efficiency, health, and survival. The impact of a changing climate is even more concerning if one considers that the demand for animal protein is expected to increase over the next decades following population growth. Therefore, one of the biggest challenges in animal sciences for the next years will be how to maintain production efficiency and increase the sustainability of livestock systems in adverse environmental conditions.

Understanding the processes by which domestic animals respond to changes in their environment is critical in order to find opportunities for improving thermal stress resilience in livestock.

This Special Issue is interested in both reviews and research papers that focus on proposing innovative tools to assess heat stress resilience in livestock or early indicators of heat stress in farm animals. This includes papers on the identification of molecular, physiological, and behavioral biomarkers of heat stress, with the potential to offer new tools to ensure climate resilient livestock production. Papers on innovative production systems aimed at evaluating the impact of the proposed farming systems on livestock heat stress tolerance using physiological markers are also welcomed.

Dr. Martina Zappaterra
Guest Editor

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
heat tolerance
livestock productivity
resilience
biomarkers

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 2810 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Reduced Space Allowance and Heat Stress on Behavior and Eye Temperature in Unweaned Lambs: A Pilot Study

by Laura Menchetti, Leonardo Nanni Costa, Martina Zappaterra and Barbara Padalino

Animals 2021, 11(12), 3464; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ani11123464 - 05 Dec 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2513

Abstract

Current European animal transportation law contains only a few and vague indications concerning how to move lambs of less than 26 kg. Moreover, little information is available in the literature about factors affecting these lambs’ welfare. We investigated the effect of space allowance and ambient temperature on the welfare of unweaned Lacaune lambs during a simulation of long-distance transportation (19 h). Three groups of lambs (N = 130) were housed in equally sized pens for 19 h, Control (C; n = 39; 0.27 m² per head), Low Space Allowance (LSA; n = 52; 0.20 m² per head), and Heat Stress (HS; n = 39; 0.27 m² per head) groups. LSA lambs had lower space allowance than C but were tested at the same temperature, within their Thermoneutral zone (range = 12–18 °C). The HS lambs were, instead, subjected to higher temperatures (range = 19–30 °C). Scan sampling of behavior was conducted, eye temperature and body weight were also recorded. LSA and HS lambs showed more discomfort behaviors (p < 0.05) and higher eye temperatures (p < 0.001) compared to C lambs, while HS lambs additionally showed a decrease in body weight over the experimental period (p < 0.001). This study indicates that lower space allowances and higher temperatures impact negatively the welfare of lambs transported for slaughter suggesting that the regulation should be implemented taking these factors into account. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Livestock: Identification of Early Biomarkers of Heat Stress in a Changing Climate)

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16 pages, 1616 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Physiological, Biochemical, and Growth Parameters of Fogera Cattle Calves to Heat Stress during Different Seasons in Sub-Humid Part of Ethiopia

by Michael Abera, Yesihak Yusuf Mummed, Mitiku Eshetu, Fabio Pilla and Zewdu Wondifraw

Animals 2021, 11(4), 1062; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ani11041062 - 08 Apr 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2269

Abstract

Fogera cattle are among indigenous breeds of cattle in the northern part of Ethiopia. However, their response to heat stress (HS) under different seasonal variations has not been well investigated. This study was aimed to determine physiological, hematological, biochemical, and growth parameters of Fogera cattle calves to HS during dry season, short rainy, and long rainy. A total of 72 calves (24 for each season) that were 6 months of age with an equal number of males and females were evaluated for physiological, hematological, biochemical, and growth parameters. Daily ambient temperature (AT) and relative humidity (RH) were recorded two times per day during the study periods from which the daily average temperature–humidity index (THI) was calculated. The study revealed higher AT and THI during dry and short seasons while higher RH was observed during the long rainy season. Physiological parameters except rectal temperature were affected by the seasons. Hematological parameters were also affected by season except for packed cell volume. Biochemical and growth parameters were also significantly affected by the seasons. THI was positively related with physiological but negatively with growth parameters. Thus, the THI value of 66 can be considered as optimum for high weight gain and normal physiological response to HS in Fogera cattle calves under their current production system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Livestock: Identification of Early Biomarkers of Heat Stress in a Changing Climate)

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Review

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16 pages, 831 KiB

Open AccessReview

Potential Use of Gut Microbiota Composition as a Biomarker of Heat Stress in Monogastric Species: A Review

by Yuqing He, Christian Maltecca and Francesco Tiezzi

Animals 2021, 11(6), 1833; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ani11061833 - 19 Jun 2021

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 5375

Abstract

Heat stress is a current challenge for livestock production, and its impact could dramatically increase if global temperatures continue to climb. Exposure of agricultural animals to high ambient temperatures and humidity would lead to substantial economic losses because it compromises animal performance, productivity, health, and welfare. The gut microbiota plays essential roles in nutrient absorption, energy balance, and immune defenses through profound symbiotic interactions with the host. The homeostasis of those diverse gut microorganisms is critical for the host’s overall health and welfare status and also is sensitive to environmental stressors, like heat stress, reflected in altered composition and functionality. This article aims to summarize the research progress on the interactions between heat stress and gut microbiome and discuss the potential use of the gut microbiota composition as a biomarker of heat stress in monogastric animal species. A comprehensive understanding of the gut microbiota’s role in responding to or regulating physiological activities induced by heat stress would contribute to developing mitigation strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Livestock: Identification of Early Biomarkers of Heat Stress in a Changing Climate)

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