Effects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock

When temperatures rise beyond an animal's comfort zone, livestock respond with a cascade of physiological changes — reduced feed intake, altered hormone levels, and shifts in metabolism — that collectively suppress milk yield, growth, and reproductive success. Researchers studying these responses in dairy cattle and other ruminants aim to map exactly how heat disrupts normal function at the cellular and systemic levels, and how some animals manage to cope better than others. With climate change pushing heat events into regions and seasons where livestock were once largely protected, understanding the genetic variation that underlies thermal tolerance has become a practical priority for breeding programs. Central open questions include how to disentangle heat stress from the nutritional deficits it causes, and whether adaptive traits selected in one environment will remain effective as conditions continue to shift.

Works

56,199

Total citations

441,153

Keywords

Heat StressLivestock ProductionDairy CattleClimate ChangePhysiological ResponsesMetabolic Adaptations