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Thermal Comfort Index for Lactating Water Buffaloes under Hot and Humid Climate.

ABSTRACT: Heat stress results in serious performance losses and adversely affects animal health and welfare under various production systems. This study was conducted to develop a thermal comfort model for lactating buffaloes under hot and humid climate. Twenty Nili-Ravi buffaloes were randomly enrolled for this one-year study. Physiological parameters including rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR), and body surface temperature (BST) and environmental variables such as wet bulb temperature (WBT), dew point temperature (DPT), and black globe temperature (BGT) were recorded twice a week on each Tuesday and Thursday (n = 1602 and 1560, respectively) at 8:00 am and 2:30 pm. Moreover, ambient temperature (AT, °C) and relative humidity (RH, %), at an interval of every 30 min were recorded. We used a typical correlation analysis to build the index models for thermal comfort. The results revealed that AT positively correlated with BGT, WBT, DPT, BST, RT, and RR, while RH negatively correlated with RT. Moreover, a physiological index model consisting of BST, RT and RR (P1 = 0.578 × BST + 0.047 × RT + 0.429 × RR) and an environmental index model (E1 = 0.881 × AT + 0.194 × RH + 0.455 × BGT - 0.347 × WBT + 0.032 × DPT) proved to be a more accurate index as a pair to reveal the state of thermal comfort in lactating buffaloes. Moreover, these models correlated well with physiological variables, indicating that this this pair of index models can be used to effectively evaluate the thermal comfort in buffaloes.

SUBMITTER: Li M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8300202 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Hot and humid weather exposes animals to high temperature and relative humidity that ultimately reduce their ability to disperse body heat. To avoid serious consequences of heat stress, it is imperative to understand animal physiological responses and biochemical changes during a state of altered body homeostasis across different seasons of the year. This study evaluated seasonal dynamics of physiological, oxidative, and metabolic responses of Nili-Ravi buffaloes to hot and humid climate. Twenty non-lactating multiparous buffaloes were enrolled for this 1-year study. Meteorological data were recorded twice daily to calculate temperature humidity index (THI). Physiological parameters including rectal temperature (RT), body surface temperature (BST), and respiratory rate (RR) were measured weekly. Blood samples were collected once in each season (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) to analyze biochemical and antioxidant parameters. We also measured activities of liver enzymes including alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). The results revealed a significantly higher THI value (82) during summer which resulted in a significant increase in RR and BST as compared to winter. Higher oxidative stress was observed in summer owing to significantly higher malondialdehyde (MDA) content and lower levels of serum antioxidant enzymes (GPx, SOD, and CAT) as compared to other seasons. Moreover, serum cortisol was also significantly higher while adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), Triiodothyronine (T3), insulin, and growth hormone contents were significantly lower in summer. Contrarily, plasma thyroxin (T4) level was higher in summer. THI showed a positive correlation with physiological responses but a negative correlation with antioxidant parameters. Our study provides practical insights on the adaptive physiology of buffaloes and has several implications regarding the alleviation of heat stress in buffaloes to enhance the efficiency of production and reproduction under tropical climate. Our study suggests the use of appropriate cooling strategies to effectively manage the non-lactating buffaloes to avoid performance losses and animal welfare issues in summer season.

Dataset Information

Thermal Comfort Index for Lactating Water Buffaloes under Hot and Humid Climate.

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