Global trends and research frontiers on heat stress in poultry from 2000 to 2021: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Background: Heat stress remains a major environmental factor affecting poultry production. With growing concerns surrounding climate change and its antecedent of global warming, research on heat stress in poultry has gradually gained increased attention. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the current status, identify the research frontiers, and highlight the research trends on heat stress in poultry research using bibliometric analysis.Methods: The literature search was performed on the Web of Science Core Collection database for documents published from 2000 to 2021. The documents retrieved were analyzed for their publication counts, countries, institutions, keywords, sources, funding, and citation records using the bibliometric app on R software. Network analysis for co-authorship, co-occurrence, citation, co-citation, and bibliographic coupling was visualized using the VOSviewer software.Results: A total of 468 publications were retrieved, and over the past two decades, there was a gradual increase in the annual number of publications (average growth rate: 4.56%). China had the highest contribution with respect to the number of publications, top contributing authors, collaborations, funding agencies, and institutions. Nanjing Agricultural University, China was the most prolific institution. Kazim Sahin from Firat University, Turkey contributed the highest number of publications and citations to heat stress in poultry research, and Poultry Science was the most productive and the most cited journal. The top 10 globally cited documents mainly focused on the effects of heat stress, alleviation of heat stress, and the association between heat stress and oxidative stress in poultry. All keywords were grouped into six clusters which included studies on “growth performance”, “intestinal morphology”, “heat stress”, “immune response”, “meat quality”, and “oxidative stress” as current research hotspots. In addition, topics such as; “antioxidants”, “microflora”, “intestinal barrier”, “rna-seq”, “animal welfare”, “gene expression”, “probiotics”, “feed restriction”, and “inflammatory pathways” were identified for future research attention.Conclusion: This bibliometric study provides a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the global research trends on heat stress in poultry over the last two decades, and it is expected to serve as a useful reference for potential research that will help address the impacts of heat stress on poultry production globally.

Global status, recent trends, and knowledge mapping of olive oil research and cardiovascular disease: 50 years of investigations through bibliometric analysis

“…Initially, bibliographic data sourced from the Scopus database was formatted in a [.csv] file. The Bibliometrix R package was subsequently installed and initialized in R Studio, and the Biblioshiny web application, which is designed for non‐programmers, was launched (Uyanga et al., 2023). The Biblioshiny application was utilized to generate visual representations of the density distribution of countries, organizations, and author collaboration, keywords, and trending topics (Mohammed & Li, 2023; Pritchard, 1969; Semwal et al., 2023).…”

The role of phytogenic feed additives in stress mitigation in broiler chickens

“…Any condition that has an adverse impact on an animal's biological systems is referred to as stress (Uyanga et al, 2023). There are two types of stress: specific and nonspecific (Virden & Kidd, 2009).…”

“…Avians are more vulnerable to a harsh temperature than other animals as they do not possess sweat glands and are covered with thick feathers, which prevent easy heat loss from their bodies to the environment (Loyau et al, 2013; Uyanga et al, 2022), causing them to be susceptible to thermal stress, which is one of the greatest environmental problems facing chicken farmers, particularly in the tropics (Ajayi et al, 2022; Kpomasse et al, 2021; Oke et al, 2022; Oke, Uyanga, et al, 2021). Studies have demonstrated that poultry under heat stress exhibits poorer growth performance, productivity indices, metabolism, immunity, behaviour, well‐being and physiological responses (Meteyake et al, 2020; Oladokun et al, 2023; Uyanga et al, 2023). To ensure sustainable poultry production, it is imperative to explore viable means of mitigating the impact of heat stress on avian species.…”

“…Heat stress causes a decline in feed consumption and weight gain (Sohail et al, 2012). Raising broilers under unfavourable temperatures exposes them to deleterious effects, which affect their behaviour, metabolic rate, thyroid activity, gut health, growth, physiological response and immunity (AI‐Fataftah & Abdelqader, 2014; Brugaletta et al, 2022; Kpomasse et al, 2023; Uyanga et al, 2023).…”

“…indices, metabolism, immunity, behaviour, well-being and physiological responses (Meteyake et al, 2020;Oladokun et al, 2023;Uyanga et al, 2023). To ensure sustainable poultry production, it is imperative to explore viable means of mitigating the impact of heat stress on avian species.…”