School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemDifferences in Thermoregulatory Responses between Dorper and Second Cross Lambs to Heat Stress Challenges(MDPI, 2020-04-07)We compared the thermotolerance of Dorper (D) and second cross (SC) (Poll Dorset x Merino/Border Leicester) lambs by assessing physiological and biochemical responses. After acclimatization, 4–5 month old lambs of each breed were exposed to either thermo-neutral (18 °C–21 °C, 40%–50% RH, n = 12/group) or cyclic heat stress (HS) (28 °C–40 °C; 40%–60% RH, n = 12/group) for 2 weeks in climatic chambers. The HS involved exposure to temperatures of 38 °C–40 °C between 0800 and 17.00 h daily; otherwise the temperature was maintained at 28 °C. Elevated temperature increased rectal temperature (p < 0.01), respiration rate (p < 0.01) and skin temperature (p < 0.01) in both breeds, (data for 12.00 and 16.00 h pooled), but to a lesser extent in D than in SC lambs (p < 0.01). The HS increased (p < 0.01) water intake to a greater extent in SC than in D lambs and HS reduced (p < 0.05) food intake in SC lambs but not in D lambs. There were no treatment effects on blood glucose and lactate levels in either breed. Significant effects of breed (p < 0.01) and treatment (p < 0.01) were observed in blood creatinine levels, being higher in SC lambs. Higher pH (p < 0.01) and lower pCO2 (p < 0.01) were recorded under HS in both breeds. Among blood electrolytes, Cl−, Na+ and base excess were significantly (all p < 0.01) reduced under HS, with no breed differences. In conclusion, the attenuated physiological responses to HS in Dorper lambs indicates better adaptation of this breed to high environmental temperature.
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ItemComparative Assessment of Thermotolerance in Dorper and Second-Cross (Poll Dorset/Merino x Border Leicester) Lambs(MDPI, 2020-12)The objective of this study was to compare the thermotolerance of second-cross (SC; Poll Dorset × Merino × Border Leicester) and Dorper lambs. Dorper and SC lambs (4-5 months of age) were subjected to cyclic heat stress (HS) (28-40 °C). The temperature was increased to 38-40 °C between 800 and 1700 h daily and maintained at 28 °C for the remainder of the day (30-60% relative humidity (RH)) in climatic chambers for 2 weeks (n = 12/group), with controls maintained in a thermoneutral (TN) (18-21 °C, 40-50% RH) environment (n = 12/group). Basal respiration rate (RR), rectal temperature (RT) and skin temperature (ST) were higher (p < 0.01) in SC lambs than in Dorpers. HS increased RR, RT and ST (p < 0.01) in both genotypes, but the levels reached during HS were lower (p < 0.01) in Dorpers. HS increased (p < 0.01) water intake to a greater extent in SC lambs, while feed intake was reduced (p < 0.05) by HS in SC lambs but not in Dorpers. HS increased (p < 0.01) blood urea nitrogen and creatinine in SC lambs only. Plasma non-esterified fatty acid concentrations were reduced (p < 0.05) by HS in SC lambs but increased (p < 0.05) in Dorpers. There was no effect of HS on pO2, cHCO3- and cSO2, but higher (p < 0.01) blood pH and lower (p < 0.01) pCO2 were recorded under HS in both genotypes. Blood electrolytes and base excess were reduced (p < 0.01) under HS, while a genotype difference (p < 0.05) was only observed in blood K+ and hemoglobin concentrations. Basal plasma prolactin concentrations were lower (p < 0.01) in Dorpers but were elevated at a similar level during HS (p < 0.01) in both genotypes. Dorper lambs are more resilient to HS than SC lambs. Future research should focus on confirming whether the better heat tolerance of Dorpers is translated to better returns in terms of growth performance and carcass traits over the summer months.
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ItemResilience of Small Ruminants to Climate Change and Increased Environmental Temperature: A Review(MDPI, 2020-05)Climate change is a major global threat to the sustainability of livestock systems. Climatic factors such as ambient temperature, relative humidity, direct and indirect solar radiation and wind speed influence feed and water availability, fodder quality and disease occurrence, with production being most efficient in optimal environmental conditions. Among these climatic variables, ambient temperature fluctuations have the most impact on livestock production and animal welfare. Continuous exposure of the animals to heat stress compromises growth, milk and meat production and reproduction. The capacity of an animal to mitigate effects of increased environmental temperature, without progressing into stress response, differs within and between species. Comparatively, small ruminants are better adapted to hot environments than large ruminants and have better ability to survive, produce and reproduce in harsh climatic regions. Nevertheless, the physiological and behavioral changes in response to hot environments affect small ruminant production. It has been found that tropical breeds are more adaptive to hot climates than high-producing temperate breeds. The growing body of knowledge on the negative impact of heat stress on small ruminant production and welfare will assist in the development of suitable strategies to mitigate heat stress. Selection of thermotolerant breeds, through identification of genetic traits for adaption to extreme environmental conditions (high temperature, feed scarcity, water scarcity), is a viable strategy to combat climate change and minimize the impact on small ruminant production and welfare. This review highlights such adaption within and among different breeds of small ruminants challenged by heat stress.