Environmental Physiology of Livestock

About this book

Environmental stress is one of the most significant factors affecting livestock performance and health, and it is only expected to increase with effects of global warming. Environmental Physiology of Livestock brings together the latest research on environmental physiology, summarizing progress in the field and providing directions for future research. Recent developments in estimating heat stress loads are discussed, as well as key studies in metabolism, reproduction, and genetic expressions.

"Environmental Physiology of Livestock" begins with a survey of current heat indexing tools, highlighting recent discoveries in animal physiology, changes in productivity levels, and new technologies available to better estimate stress response. Using this synopsis as a point of orientation, later chapters hone in on major effects of heat stress, including changing metabolic pathways and nutrient requirements, endocrine regulation of acclimation to environmental stress, and reduced reproductive performance. The text concludes with a thorough discussion of environmental effects on gene expressions, providing important insight for future breeding practices.

Contents

Foreward
List of Contributors

Chapter 1 From heat tolerance to heat stress relief: an evolution of notions in animal farming
Chapter 2 Physiological basics of temperature regulation in domestic animals
Chapter 3 Heat Stress and Evaporative Cooling
Chapter 4 Regulation of Acclimation to Environmental Stress
Chapter 5 Environment and Animal Well-being
Chapter 6 Effects of Environment on Metabolism
Chapter 7 Impact of Hot Environment on Nutrient Requirements
Chapter 8 Effects of environment on animal health: mechanisms and regulatory inputs
Chapter 9 Effect of Environment on Immune Functions
Chapter 10 Strategies for improvement of thermal and reproductive responses under heat stress
Chapter 11 Prospects for improving fertility during heat stress by increasing embryonic resistance to elevated temperature
Chapter 12 Environmental heat sress impairs placental function, fetal growth and development, and postnatal performance in livestock
Chapter 13 Effects of Photoperiod on Domestic Animals
Chapter 14 Rethinking heat index tools for livestock
Chapter 15 Strategies to reduce the impact of heat and cold stress in dairy cattle facilities
Chapter 16 Genotype by environment interactions in commercial populations

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