Silvia Helena Nogueira Turco

Water and small ruminant production

Water is a nutrient of extreme importance for animals and must be considered vital in any rearing phase. The increasing scarcity of this precious natural resource has concerned different segments of society in order to find solutions for rational and sustainable use of this nutrient. Small ruminants, especially sheep and goats, have social and economic importance due to their great ability in adapting to adverse environmental conditions and using water efficiently. Thus, they might be a good alternative to mitigate the climate change effects and to generate foreign exchange and improving life condition in many places of the world. The concept of water productivity for livestock production is relatively new and there are few studies in the world, especially in Brazil. More researches and new technologies for water use in livestock production are indispensable.

Behavior of sheep breed Santa Inês in environments with and without shade availability

With the goal of observing the effects of shade provided by polypropylene screen on the behaviour of Santa Ines sheep, in different times of year, an experiment was set up in Petrolina, PE, in the period from June to November 2010. Forty animals divided into equal quantity in two treatments (shaded and non-shaded) were used with supply of irrigated pastures (Tiffton 85). Measurements of meteorological data were made at all times, with the assembly of black globe thermometers and psychrometers in the two areas, and a mini-weather station, at the shaded area. Under these conditions a trials was carried out on behavior of animals, being made visual observations by the method of instantaneous scan at intervals of 10 min during the daytime period, checking the percentage of animals under food, rumination and leisure using the methodology proposed by Johnson & Combs (1991), adapted for a period of 12 h. The shading did not influence the number of animals under the activities evaluated in different treatments. The search for shade was intense in the hottest periods of the day for leisure activity.

Climate change scenarios and their impacts on milk production in northeastern states of Brazil

A pecuaria leiteira e uma atividade de grande importância no nordeste brasileiro, podendo ser afetada de forma direta e indireta, caso as atuais previsoes climaticas sejam confirmadas ate o final do seculo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estimar os impactos das mudancas climaticas sobre a producao leiteira nos estados de Alagoas, Bahia e Sergipe. Os valores do indice de temperatura e umidade (ITU), do declinio da producao de leite (DPL) e da reducao do consumo alimentar (RCA) de vacas leiteiras foram calculados para os cenarios climaticos B1 e A1F1 do IPCC. Utilizou-se um modelo multiplicativo para estimar o efeito das alteracoes de temperatura sobre os valores normais da umidade relativa do ar. Com base em ambos os cenarios do IPCC, as regioes produtoras, situadas no norte e litoral do estado da Bahia e areas litorâneas dos estados de Alagoas e Sergipe, serao afetadas expressivamente em decorrencia do aumento do estresse termico, com reducoes marcantes na producao de leite e no consumo alimentar, especialmente de animais com alto potencial genetico de producao. Este cenario pode afetar as atuais regioes produtoras dos estados nordestinos, de forma que a exploracao leiteira seja limitada aos animais com baixo desempenho produtivo.

Impactos das mudanças climáticas na produção leiteira do estado de Pernambuco: análise para os cenários B2 e A2 do IPCC

IMPACTS OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE ON REGIONAL VARIATION OF MILK PRODUCTION IN THE PERNAMBUCO STATE, BRAZIL: ANALYSIS FOR THE B2 AND A2 IPCC SCENARIOS Based upon climate projections provided by the B2 and A2 IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change) scenarios, the impacts of climate change on regional milk production in the Pernambuco State have been evaluated. Thus, the values of the temperature and humidity indexes (THI) have been computed considering the temperature and relative humidity modelling projections. Afterwards, the milk production decline (MPD) has been estimated for three production levels (10, 20 e 30 kg animal -1 day -1 ). The values of the feed intake reduction (FIR) were also calculated. It has been demonstrated that climate change as projected by the A2 and B2 scenarios leads to substantial modifications in the present day areas suitable for livestock, particularly at the main Pernambuco production regions (Garanhuns, Ipanema and Ipojuca Valley). The results may, therefore, help farmers and government on the evaluation of the production system vulnerability, as well as suggesting mitigation and adaptation policies for the dairy husbandry in the State of Pernambuco, taking climatic change into account.

Estimating black globe temperature based on meteorological data.

An automatic weather station, comprising of temperature and humidity sensors, a pyranometer, an anemometer, and a thermocouple inside a black globe, was installed in a grassed area at the University of the State of Bahia - UNEB, Juazeiro County, Bahia State, Brazil. Half of the data collected at this station was used to generate models (simple or multiplicative) for estimating the Black Globe Temperature (BGT). Model performance was evaluated by using the second half of the data. Statistical precision and accuracy indices and statistical errors were used to analyze the collected data and the Student`s t test was used to evaluate the significance of the model parameters. Two models to estimate the BGT using meteorological variables were obtained: BGTd = [1.360 Tair d - 2.358]·[0.075 ln(Rs) - 0.562] and BGTn = [0.942 Tair n]. One model was elaborated for daytime BGTd), when the air temperature (Tair d) and solar radiation (Rs) were combined to generate a multiplicative model (R2 = 0.877), and a second model was developed to determine the BGT values for night-time (BGTn) based on the night-time air temperature (Tair n) (R2 = 0.962). The models developed resulted in great performance to predict the black globe temperature, allowing the estimation of bioclimatic indices to assess the conditions of the environment, to accomplish regional studies, and to indicate best house designs for animals.

Parâmetros fisiológicos de ovinos Santa Inês submetidos a sombreamento com tela de polipropileno

In order to verify the influence of the use of polypropylene fabric with light retention 80 in physiological responses of Santa Ines sheep under grazing, an experiment was conducted in Petrolina, PE, between June to November of 2010. Two treatments (with and without shading) were adopted with 20 animals in each. Rectal temperature, skin surface temperature and respiratory rate at 7:00 am and 3:00 pm twice a week were measured. Meteorological data were recorded for the determinations of the temperature index of black globe and humidity, every 2:00 hours during 24 hours, throughout the experiment. It was verified after analysis of the data that sheep under shade treatment had suffered reductions in all physiological variables evaluated, when compared with the treatment without shade. The use of shading is justified, in particular in the afternoon, since all variables showed greater change.

Fatores meteorológicos sobre a atividade reprodutiva de cabras leiteiras na época seca do semiárido pernambucano

The heat stress conditions with reference to meteorological and individual factors were investigated, and the influence of this condition on the reproductive activity of undefined breed of goats (SPRD), calved during the dry period. In all, 24 animals were used, divided into four treatments: control group, consisting of goats that had access only to the pasture and palm in nature and 3 groups through supplementation with concentrated isoproteic 20% crude protein (CP), varying the total digestible nutrients (TDN) content of 65, 75 and 85%. Data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. The meteorological factors were observed by index of temperature of black globe and humidity (ITGU) and the physiological through respiratory (RF) and cardiac frequencies (CF); cutaneous (CT) and rectal temperatures (RT) and analysed in factorial scheme. Statistical differences were found in the respiratory and cardiac frequencies, showed an interaction between the month and times of observation. The uterine involution, did not show differences between treatments (p > 0.05). The return to estrus tended to be faster in groups 85 and 75% than in other groups. There was no negative influence of mild heat stress, indicated by climatic factors (ITGU) and the individual factors on the reproductive activity of goats SPRD.