Reliability of methods to determine cutaneous evaporative water loss rate in furred and fleeced mammals

Fonsêca, Vinícius de França Carvalho; Silva, Alexandre Rodrigues; Moura, Gustavo André Bernado; Snelling, Edward P.; Fuller, Andrea; Mitchell, Duncan; Costa, Cíntia Carol de Melo; Milan, Hugo M.; Maia, Alex Sandro Campos

doi:10.1002/jez.2572

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…A widely disseminated notion is that breeds endogenous to a cold region may find it difficult to cope with warm climates [18]. The Husky Siberian is a breed originating from cold temperate climates and that was imported to Brazil, a typical tropical country, where levels of solar irradiance are high and almost constant over the year [19]. This study is the first to assess owners' perceptions about the heat tolerance of their Husky Siberian dogs, and to see the association with owners' attitudes towards routine care of their dogs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat Tolerance of Siberian Husky Dogs Living in Brazil: A Case Study on the Perceptions and Attitudes of Their Owners

Veríssimo,

Saraiva,

Sant’Anna

et al. 2023

Animals

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The management of the thermal environment to which dogs are exposed should be included in strategies to improve their welfare. An online questionnaire was administered to 624 owners of Siberian Husky dogs residing in Brazil, with the objective of assessing their perceptions regarding their dogs’ capacity to adapt to heat, and its association with the owners’ routine care. Owners who believed that dogs are low-heat-tolerant animals were more likely to report heat response behaviors from their dogs. Overall, owners reported walk with their dogs during early morning, late afternoon and nighttime. They also reported solar radiation as the primary criteria for determining the time to walk with their dogs. However, owners who reported walking with their dogs at noon mentioned time availability as their primary criteria. In conclusion, owners perceive Siberian Husky dogs living in Brazil as being poorly adapted to heat, and this perception appeared to influence their positive attitudes towards protecting their dogs from heat stress by choosing to walk them during times with less solar exposure. However, the lack of time for owners to walk with their dogs during cooler periods can still be a risk factor in exposing the animals to extreme hot conditions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat Tolerance of Siberian Husky Dogs Living in Brazil: A Case Study on the Perceptions and Attitudes of Their Owners

Veríssimo,

Saraiva,

Sant’Anna

et al. 2023

Animals

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“…Artificial shade is in the forefront of environmental modification to mitigate the negative impacts of heat stress and to improve welfare of beef cattle, particularly in tropical environments where animals face high levels of short-wave solar radiation ( 1 , 2 ). The benefits of shade for animals come from reducing radiant heat gain ( 3 , 4 ), body heat storage ( 5 ), evaporative cooling through panting and sweating ( 6 – 9 ) and by increasing the frequency of beneficial behaviors (e.g., lying down, ruminating, and playing ( 10 – 12 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economically sustainable shade design for feedlot cattle

et al. 2023

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Provision of shade reduces radiant heat load on feedlot cattle, thus reducing demand of water and energy for thermoregulation. While the positive effects of shade on animal welfare are widely known, the literature lacks data on the magnitude of its economic impacts. In this study, we propose the concept of novel shade design to prove that a correctly oriented and dimensioned roof structure, which optimizes shade to be displaced within the pens, motivates cattle to seek shade, protect them from short-wave solar radiation, and is resilient to counteract weather adverse conditions. The beneficial outcome is improvement in animal welfare and productive performance, as well as increments on financial return and sustainability. To attest these benefits, eight hundred B. indicus × Bos taurus bulls were randomly assigned in pens with or without shade from a galvanized steel-roof structure. Performance data (e.g., dry matter intake, body weight gain, feed efficiency and hot carcass weight) and heat stress indicators (e.g., subcutaneous temperature, body-surface temperature, respiratory rate and water intake) were assessed along the study period. The economic outcomes derived from shade implementation were determined using the net present value. Meteorological variables were also monitored every 1 min, and grouped in a thermal comfort index for feedlot cattle, the InComfort Index (InCI). The shade structure efficiently reduced radiant heat load on cattle in pens with shade. According to the classification of the InCI, during very hot days (InCI > 0.6; around noon with mean solar radiation above 800 W m−2 and mean air temperature above 33°C), greater proportion (80%) of animals in shaded pens were using shade. Under such circumstances, cattle in shade had water intake reduced by 3.4 L per animal, body temperature was lower by 5°C, subcutaneous temperature was lower by 1°C and respiration rate was lower by 10 breaths min−1 compared to animals in pens without shade (P = 0.0001). Although dry matter intake was similar (P = 0.6805), cattle in pens with shade had higher average daily gain reflected in a heavier hot carcass weight (8 kg animal−1; P = 0.0002). Considering an initial investment of $90 per animal to build a structure that lasts 15 years, the expected payback time is four finishing cycles (~110 days per cycle). In conclusion, this study confirms that the proposed novel shade design is economically profitable, improves performance, and enhances animal welfare.

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“…Dark-colored cows may however absorb heat by thermal radiation twice as much as the light-colored ones ( Figure 1 ), therefore would need to sustain greater rates of cutaneous evaporation to maintain the thermal equilibrium ( 11 ), if they are kept in tropical pastures without access to shade. The thermal radiation is the principal meteorological factor that influences thermal equilibrium of cows in tropical conditions, and consequently heat stress thresholds ( 12 – 14 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat tolerance, thermal equilibrium and environmental management strategies for dairy cows living in intertropical regions

Santos

Saraiva²,

Neto³

et al. 2022

Front. Vet. Sci.

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This review makes an attempt to characterize the physical attributes of heat tolerance, thermal equilibrium and thermal stress thresholds for dairy cows living in tropical environments, with a particular emphasis on pasture-based systems. Under such circumstances, the radiant heat load is the principal climatic factor that determines rates of heat and mass exchanges between cows and the environment. This fact may explain why simple mechanistic models based on air temperature and humidity are not adequately predicting thermal stress thresholds for cattle in tropical regions. To overcome this limitation, the Index of Thermal Stress for Cows (ITSC) and Index for the time spent in shade (ITS), which account for various sources of thermal radiation, were proposed to predict autonomous and behavioral thermoregulation of cows. Overall, the evolutionary adaptation of cattle in tropics favored animals that have cutaneous surface with a skin well protected against penetration of ultraviolet solar radiation (UV), covered by a coat surface with high thermal conductivity. For Holstein breed, although predominantly black animals absorb greater levels of short-wave solar radiation, they may present better protection of skin than white ones. However, dark-colored cows in tropical pastures have potential to absorb as much as 640 W m−2 of thermal radiation. This amount of heat load would require close to 1,300 g h−1 of cutaneous evaporative water loss through sweating to prevent increases to body temperature, where cows do not have access to shade. Cows are motivated to reduce time spent grazing and to seek shade when solar irradiance exceeds 550 W m−2, levels that in equatorial latitudes are likely to occur between 08:00 and 16:00h. This information may help producers improve the welfare of cows, as they can determine more comfortable hours for them to graze, for example, by employing nocturnal grazing. Over the daytime, cows should have access to areas with shade and this could include shade provided via solar panels, which has the potential to improve thermal comfort and sustainability of dairy production in tropical areas.

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Reliability of methods to determine cutaneous evaporative water loss rate in furred and fleeced mammals

Cited by 5 publications

References 44 publications

Heat Tolerance of Siberian Husky Dogs Living in Brazil: A Case Study on the Perceptions and Attitudes of Their Owners

Heat Tolerance of Siberian Husky Dogs Living in Brazil: A Case Study on the Perceptions and Attitudes of Their Owners

Economically sustainable shade design for feedlot cattle

Heat tolerance, thermal equilibrium and environmental management strategies for dairy cows living in intertropical regions

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