Animal stress physiology

Contamination of water through salinization will affect the well-being of livestock. Therefore, it is necessary to understand how animals respond to increasing levels of salts in their water supply. This short communication describes the effects of a two-week salinity stress (0, 6, 12 g L − 1 NaCl) on Pelibuey sheep. The parameters measured in response to salinity stress were animal weight, rectal temperature, and levels of hemoglobin, hematocrits, lymphocytes, neutrophils, leukocytes and proteins. Specific activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in blood samples were also recorded. The results showed that the 6 g L − 1 NaCl treatment resulted in the significantly highest body weight. There were no significant differences in the rectal temperature of animals. In terms of the hematological parameters, animals exposed to 6 g L − 1 NaCl displayed the significantly highest hemoglobin and hematocrit contents. There appeared to be no effect of consumption of saline water on the amount of lymphocytes, neutrophils, leukocytes or proteins. It was found that animals that consumed 12 g L − 1 NaCl supplemented water had the lowest levels of SOD activity. There were no significant differences in CAT specific activities in animals exposed to the saline water or the control. This is the first report on the response of Pelibuey sheep to short-term saline stress under Cuban environmental conditions.

Kehidupan makhluk hidup di dalam air seperti ikan dan hewan air lainnya, tidak terlepas dari kandungan oksigen yang terlarut di dalam air. Tidak berbeda dengan manusia dan makhluk hidup lainnya yang berada di darat, yang juga memerlukan oksigen dari udara agar tetap dapat bertahan hidup. Air yang mengandung oksigen yang terlarut yang berperan penting bagi kehidupan makhluk hidup di dalam air. Akan tetapi, jika kangdungan oksigen yang terlarut di dalam air sedikit atau kurang dari batas normal maka hal tersebut menandakan telah terjadi pencemaran air. Pencemaran air disebabkan oleh beberapa faktor seperti limbah rumah tangga. Akibat dari pencemaran air yaitu dapat mempengaruhi kehidupan makhluk hidup di dalam air, seperti pada ikan yang ditandai dengan perubahan frekuensi gerak operculum ikan.
Kata kunci : Pencemaran air, faktor penyebab pencemaran air, dampak pencemaran air.

The environment is usually attributed as the major climatic factor affecting animal health and production system
in all agro-climatic zones. There are various environmental components viz. temperature, radiation, snowfall, wind,
precipitation, humidity etc. that impact animal health and productivity. Ladakh is a remote and difficult terrain of
India for studying the impact of climate change on livestock production. This area is situated at high altitude,
which varies from 10,000 to 12,000 feet from mean sea level (MSL) and temperature range is 35° to –35°C. The
atmospheric oxygen pressure is 30% short of MSL. Therefore, this region exhibits hypobaric-hypoxia, extreme
cold and dry-arid climate for most of the year, which restrict the growth and productivity of the different livestock
populations, including dairy cattle. However, demands are very high for milk and milk products by local people,
Indian troops deployed in this region and tourists. Availability of fodder and high altitude stress-induced maladies,
mountain sickness (brisket edema), stunted growth, infertility, mastitis pneumonia, etc. severely limits the dairy
development, which has increased the gap between supply and demand of dairy products in this region. The impact
of climate change on livestock production in Ladakh is a relatively ignored research area. Since the literature on the
effect of climate change on dairy cattle productivity in Leh-Ladakh is scarce, therefore, the present article reviewed
the available reports and presents authors’ own observations on how this climate change impacted on health,
production and reproduction of dairy cattle in high altitude cold desert

An experimental model was developed to study stress in Japanese quails. Physiological Alzet-osmotic pumps were used to deliver constantly adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) at a defined dosage level over specified period. Total of one hundred and twenty (120) quails were allocated into 12 pens (Three ACTH-treated pens and nine control pens; three each for NHC, PSO, SAL). Each pen contained eight experimental female quails and two extras males. The experiment was design produced five replications with two subsamples. The experiment commenced when the quails were five weeks of age. The experimental quails were assigned to received ACTH treatment via Alzet-osmotic pump calibrated to deliver 0.15 IU ACTH/g BW/day for 14 continuous days (35 to 49 d). However, the controls were neither assigned to pumps nor pseudo operated. The method used for control groups include non-handled control (NHC), pseudo-surgical method (PSO), and surgical pump implantation delivering saline (SAL) as three standard controls. It was found that constant delivery of ACTH at 0.15 IU/g BW/day for 14 days (35 to 49 d) caused elevation in plasma corticosterone (CORT), cholesterol (CHOL), glucose (GLU), triglycerides (TRI), total protein (TP), heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratio, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The results of this experiment demonstrate that constant delivery of ACTH by Alzet-osmotic pumps is an excellent model to study stress in quails.

Sheep farming, and the income generated from this endeavor, contributes significantly to the global economy and rural livelihoods. Therefore, it is vital to maintain the productivity of this industry in the face of changing climate patterns. In the context of sheep farming, animals are exposed to a higher heat load as global temperatures are increasing, leading to heat stress. This heat stress conditions can adversely affect animal productivity and welfare resulting in reduced feed intake, physiological (panting, higher respiration, higher heart rate, etc.) and behavioral changes (lying down, standing, seeking shade, etc.) to compensate for increased heat load ultimately leading to lowered productivity. Considering this, it is important to monitor sheep behavior in order to implement improved management practices to compensate for changes in climate. The current short study investigated sheep behavior at different times throughout the day. The data generated was analyzed using the h...

Ambient conditions, as temperature and photoperiod, play a key role in animals' physiology and behaviors. To test the hypothesis that the maximum thermal physiological and bioenergetics tolerances are induced by extreme environments in Tupaia belangeri. We integrated the acclimatized and acclimated data in several physiological, hormonal, and biochemical markers of thermogenic capacity and bioenergetics in T. belangeri. Results showed that T. belangeri increased body mass, thermogenesis capacity, protein contents and cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity of liver and brown adipose tissue in winter-like environments, which indicated that temperature was the primary signal for T. belangeri to regulate several physiological capacities. The associated photoperiod signal also elevated the physiological capacities. The regulations of critical physiological traits play a primary role in meeting the survival challenges of winter-like condition in T. belangeri. Together, to cope with cold, leptin may play a potential role in thermogenesis and body mass regulation, as this hormonal signal is associated with other hormones. The strategies of thermal physiology and bioenergetics differs between typical Palearctic species and the local species. However, the maximum thermal physiology and bioenergetic tolerance maybe is an important strategy to cope with winter-like condition of T. belangeri. Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of individuals to change phenotype with fluctuations in climate conditions, and responses mainly include aspects of morphology, physiology, behavior, and phenology 1. The energy metabolism of small mammals may be the most suitable field for studying phenotypic plasticity changes 2. The variation in physiological traits in individuals is an important response to the environment 1,3,4. Climate conditions, including temperature and photoperiod, play a key role in seasonal variation in body mass, food intake, body fat mass, and other traits 5–9 for many species inhabiting in temperature zone, especially mammals. However, different species show different responses to climate conditions, such as Phodopus sungorus 6 , Ochotona curzoniae 10 , Microtus oeco-nomus 10 , and Clethrionomys glareolus 11. Small mammals' response to seasonal variations such as cold or short photoperiods, by regulating physiological strategies, such as body mass and thermogenic capacity (e.g., nonshivering thermogenesis, NST) 6–8,12–23. The brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a specialized organ that is involved in NST 24–26 , and in increased energy expenditure involves the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis and sympathetic nervous system 27. The NST capacity entirely depends on uncoupling protein 1(UCP1) in BAT, a 32-kD carrier protein located in the inner membrane of mitochondria, that separates oxidative phosphorylation from adenosine triphosphate synthesis, with energy dissipated as heat 27. Most previous researches focused on the influence of temperature/photoperiod on physiological and biochemical properties of individuals, such as Sekeetamys calurus 20 , Lasiopodomys brandtii 21 , 35 , and Phodopus sungorus 36. The cytochrome c oxidase (COX, complex IV) represents the terminal enzyme of oxidative phospho-rylation in mitochondria and is involved in mitochondrial energy metabolism 37 , and other biochemical acitivities

Global warming is shifting the population of animals around the world, due to the frequent extreme heatwaves. Scientists anticipate that the ocean temperature will rise by 1-4°C by the year 2100. Fishes as an ectotherm are particularly vulnerable to global warming. However, there is limited information about the possible impact of global warming on fish physiology. This study was designed to investigate and compare the effects of long-term thermal acclimation on antioxidant enzymes activities and the potential stress in blue tilapia (O. aureus) (20±1.7 g). Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione Stransferase (GST), and glutathione reductase (GR), as well as γ-glutamyl cysteine synthetase (γ-GCS) and γ-Glutamyl transferase (γ-GT). In comparison to fish acclimated to winter ambient temperature, the activity of the liver and white muscle enzymes increased dramatically in fish adapted to 30°C and 40°C. While the levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO) were significantly increased in tissues of fish acclimated to 40°C, as compared to fish at both ambient and 30°C.