Strategies and Mechanisms of Thermal Compensation in Newborn Water Buffaloes
Daniel Mota-Rojas,
Ada Braghieri,
Marcelo Ghezzi,
María Carolina Ceriani,
Julio Martínez-Burnes,
Pamela Anahí Lendez,
Alfredo M. F. Pereira,
Karina Lezama-García,
Adriana Domínguez-Oliva,
Alejandro Casas-Alvarado,
Emilio Sabia,
Corrado Pacelli,
Fabio Napolitano
Affiliations
Daniel Mota-Rojas
Neurophysiology, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, Mexico
Ada Braghieri
Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Marcelo Ghezzi
Animal Welfare Area, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences (FCV), Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNCPBA), University Campus, Tandil 7000, Argentina
María Carolina Ceriani
Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNCPBA), Tandil, Veterinary Research Center (CIVETAN), CONICET-CICPBA, Arroyo Seco S/N, Campus Universitario, Tandil 7000, Argentina
Julio Martínez-Burnes
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Victoria City 87000, Mexico
Pamela Anahí Lendez
Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNCPBA), Tandil, Veterinary Research Center (CIVETAN), CONICET-CICPBA, Arroyo Seco S/N, Campus Universitario, Tandil 7000, Argentina
Alfredo M. F. Pereira
Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development (MED), Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal
Karina Lezama-García
Neurophysiology, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, Mexico
Adriana Domínguez-Oliva
Neurophysiology, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, Mexico
Alejandro Casas-Alvarado
Neurophysiology, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, Mexico
Emilio Sabia
School of Agricultural, Forest, Food, and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Corrado Pacelli
Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Fabio Napolitano
Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Hypothermia is one of the principal causes of perinatal mortality in water buffaloes and can range from 3% to 17.9%. In ruminants, factors affecting hypothermia in newborns may be of intrinsic (e.g., level of neurodevelopment, birth weight, vitality score, amount of brown fat, skin features) or extrinsic origin (e.g., maternal care, environmental conditions, colostrum consumption). When newborn buffaloes are exposed to cold stress, thermoregulatory mechanisms such as peripheral vasoconstriction and shivering and non-shivering thermogenesis are activated to prevent hypothermia. Due to the properties of infrared thermography (IRT), as a technique that detects vasomotor changes triggered by a reduction in body temperature, evaluating the central and peripheral regions in newborn buffaloes is possible. This review aims to analyze behavioral, physiological, and morphological strategies and colostrum consumption as thermal compensation mechanisms in newborn water buffalo to cope with environmental changes affecting thermoneutrality. In addition, the importance of monitoring by IRT to identify hypothermia states will be highlighted. Going deeper into these topics related to the water buffalo is essential because, in recent years, this species has become more popular and is being bred in more geographic areas.
