Climate directly or indirectly has a great impact on livestock production and reproduction such as estrus cycle, follicular growth, fertility, semen production etc. However, there is always a way to tackle the problem by implementing scientific housing system, nutritional intervention etc

1. May 17, 2018 Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPM
Effect of Climate Change on Animal
Reproduction and its Ameliorative Measures

2. May 17, 2018 Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPM
Some Inconvenient Truths…
Mumbai’s Nariman Point will be submerged by
Year 2020
40% of Himalayan glaciers would vanish by
Year 2035
50 million people in coastal belt will be displaced
by year 2100

3. • By the year 2100 the average global temperature will increase
by 1.4 degrees to 5.8 degrees Celsius (approximately 2.5 degrees
to 10.5 degrees Fahrenheit).
• The scary part is we are causing changes to happen at an unbelievable rate,
much faster than normal.
• The livestock sector - for 40% of the world's agriculture GDP and employs
about 1.3 billion people were struggling in supplying the demand of seven
billion world population
• Struggling to tackle the reproductive efficiency, which is the key factor
affecting profitability in livestock production systems from the effect of climate
change.
Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPMMay 17, 2018

4.  Range of thermal conditions - the livestock are able to maintain a relatively
constant body temperature (i.e. between 38.4 and 39.0°C) by means of behavioral
and physiological responses.
 Environmental temperatures move out of the themoneutral zone or comfort
zone animals begin to experience thermal stress.
 restlessness, panting, ↑ salivation, ↑ respiration rate, lethargy, ↓ activity, ↑
maintenance energy requirement by 20-30%, ↓ intake energy available for
productive functions, ↓ in dry matter intake by 10 to 20%, ↓ in milk production from
10 to 25%
 ↓ reproductive performance, ↑ risk of morbidity and mortality particularly young
animals and ↓ average daily weight gain.
Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPMMay 17, 2018

5. IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON REPRODUCTION
Estrous period and follicular growth
 HS ↓ the length and intensity of estrus, ↑ incidence of anestrous and silent heat by ↑
ACTH and cortisol secretion and blocks estradiol-induced sexual behavior
 When the body temperature exceeds 40°C it can alter the follicular growth - Roth et
al. (2000), steroid secretion (Ozawa et al. 2005) and gene expression (Argov et
al.2005)
 In female goats, HS ↓ plasma concentrations of oestradiol and lowered follicular
oestradiol concentration, aromatase activity and LH receptor level - delayed ovulation
(Ozawa et al. 2005)
 Low estradiol secretion suppresses signs of estrus, gonadotropin surge, ovulation,
transport of gametes and ultimately reduced fertilization (Ozawa et al. 2005)
 They also reported, summer period there is low estradiol level on the day of estrus -
may be the likely factor for poor expression of heat in Indian buffaloes.
May 17, 2018 Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPM
FemaleFemale

6.  80% of estrus may be unnoticeable during summer, which further ↓ fertility
 Conception rates in cooler months 40% to 60% but drop to about 10-20% or
lower in summer, depending on the severity of the thermal stress
 About 20-27% drop in conception rates or decrease in 90-day non-return rate
to the first service in lactating dairy cows were recorded in summer,
Amundson et al. (2005)
 Oocytes of cows exposed to thermal stress lose their competence for
fertilization and development to the blastocyst stage
 HS ↓ oocyte development by affecting its growth and maturation
 In HS animal, ↑ circulating prolactin level – resulting acyclicity and infertility
Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPMMay 17, 2018
F-E-R-T-I-L-I-T-Y

7. Embryonic Growth And Development
 The effects of heat in the embryo are more evident in early stages of its development
 HS - embryonic death by interfering protein synthesis, oxidative cell damage, reducing
interferon production for signaling pregnancy recognition and expression of stress-
related genes associated with apoptosis
 ↓ progesterone secretion - limits endometrial function and embryo development
 Exposure of lactating cows to heat on the 1st
day after estrus reduced the proportion of
embryos that developed to the blastocyst stage
 Exposure of post-implantation embryos (early organogenesis) and fetus to heat also
leads to various teratologies
 Embryos subjected to high temperatures in vitro or in vivo until day 7 of development
(blastocyst) showed lower pregnancy rates at day 30 and higher rates of embryonic
loss on day 42 of gestation and lactation yield as well as postpartum ovarian activity
 HS -fetal malnutrition and eventually fetal growth
Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPMMay 17, 2018

8. Effects On Male Reproductive Performance
 Bull testes must be 2-6°C cooler than core body temperature for fertile sperm
to be produced
 Therefore, ↑ testicular temperature due to thermal stress - changes in seminal
and biochemical parameters - infertility problems in bulls
 Seasonal effects - changes in testicular volume, hormonal profiles, sexual
behavior and semen quality that affect the reproductive performance of males,
Cardozo et al.(2006)
 Seasonal influence on 19 Bos taurus bulls and found decreased semen quality
parameters in summer, further reported younger bulls are more sensitive to
high temperatures during the summer seasons. Balic et al. (2012)
May 17, 2018 Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPM

9.  ↑ in air temperature - 10 to 18°C to › 35°C significantly (p<0.01) affect the
membrane integrity status of fresh spermatozoa in (crossbred, Red Sindhi,
Haryana and Jersey) Mishra et al. (2013)
 In karan Fries bulls, semen qualities during winter is optimal, poor during
summer, intermediate during rainy season conclude that hot-dry or summer
season adversely affect the various bio-physical characteristics of semen
 Hence, high temperature significantly lowers conception as well as fertility
rates per insemination of male and subsequently reduces male’s fitness,
Bhakat et al. (2014)
Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPMMay 17, 2018

10. Ameliorative Measures To Combat Against Climate
Change
 Rise of planet’s temperature will continue, get much worse in the future -
effects of this change are irreversible
 Therefore, the measures taken should focus on alleviating rather than
eliminating the heat from the animal.
 Three basic managemental measures to combat against climate change
on animals are
 physical modification of the environment
 improved nutritional management schemes &
 genetic development of less sensitive breeds.
Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPMMay 17, 2018

11. Physical Modification Of The Environment
 Modification of microenvironment to enhance
heat dissipation mechanism - most important
measures to be considered in hot
environment
 Shades: natural/artificial are the simplest
method to reduce the impact of high solar
radiation
 Trees - excellent natural source of shade
 Cooling mechanism: ponds/evaporative
cooling with tunnel ventilation or cross
ventilation, sprinkler (mist and fog)
 sprinkling water on buffaloes or making them
wallow in clean water helps to improve fertility
in summer months
May 17, 2018 Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPM

12. Housing management
 Long axis: East to West, the paddock side
facing the north to get direct sunlight during
winter and to prevent entry of direct sunlight
into the shed during other seasons
 North-south orientation, the sun will strike
every part of the floor area
 In regions where temperatures average 30°C
or more for up to five hours per day during
some period of the year, the east-west
orientation is most beneficial
Orientation of animal house:Orientation of animal house:
May 17, 2018 Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPM

13. May 17, 2018 Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPM

14. Improved Nutritional Management Schemes
 Providing green fodder, dry fodder + green fodder, grazing during cooler hour
(morning and evening) etc. is very useful to overcome from heat stress
 Soaking, concentrate in equal amount of water for 20-30 minutes is also
proved to be beneficial
 Feed containing low fiber rations - hot weather is logical, heat production is
highly associated with metabolism of acetate compared with propionate
 HS - oxidative damage, can be minimized through supplementation of vitamins
C, E and A and also mineral
 Vit. E acts as an inhibitor (chain blocker) of lipid peroxidation and Vit. C assist
in the absorption of folic acid by reducing it to tetrahydrofolate – finally acts as
an antioxidant
Feeding StrategyFeeding Strategy
May 17, 2018 Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPM

15.  Use of vitamin C + electrolyte supplementation was found to relieve the
animals - oxidative stress and boosts cell-mediated immunity in buffaloes
 Na+
and K+
status of the body stayed normal during heat stress - supplemented
with electrolytes which could be due to better regulation of acid-base balance
in the blood, West et al. (2003)
 Yeast products supplementation plays an important role in digestibility of
nutrient by altering the volatile fatty acids production in the rumen, decrease
the production of ruminal ammonia and increase in ruminal microorganism
population
 Water requirements increase (50%) with the increased of ambient temperature
- ample amount of fresh, clean, cool and good quality drinking water to
compensate losses from sweating and increased respiration rates
May 17, 2018 Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPM

16. Genetic Development Of Less Sensitive Breeds
 Long-term strategies have to be evolved for adaptation to climate change
 Differences in thermal tolerance exist between livestock species provide clues
or tools to select thermotolerant animals using genetic tools
 Identification of heat-tolerant animals within high-producing breeds will be
useful - survivability when exposed to heat stress conditions
 Cattle with shorter hair, hair of greater diameter and lighter coat color are more
adapted to hot environments than those with longer hair coats and darker
colors
 Phenotype has been characterized in B. Taurus and the dominant gene found
in them is associated with an increased sweating rate, lower rectal
temperature and respiration rate in homozygous cattle under hot conditions
May 17, 2018 Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPM

17.  heat shock gene related to thermotolerance, identified and being used as
marker in marker assisted selection and genome-wide selection to developed
thermotolerant bull that are used in breeding program
 Major families of Hsps are Hsp100, Hsp90, Hsp70, Hsp60, Hsp40 and the
small Hsps (so-called Hsps of sizes below 30 kDa)
 HSPs - critical role in the recovery of cells from stress and in cyto-
protection as well as guarding cells from subsequent insults
 HS persists, these gene expression changes lead to an altered physiological
state referred to as “acclimation” a process largely controlled by the
endocrine system. Further, thermotolerant bull can be used in breeding policy
to have thermal adapted offspring.
May 17, 2018 Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPM

18. Conclusion
 Climate change is an irreversible process
 Integrating of different sectors like Energy, Forest, Animal Husbandry,
Agriculture , Health etc.
 Further research on climate resilient animal agriculture is the need of the hour
for sustainability in dairy farming system, especially in hot humid climatic
regions
May 17, 2018 Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPM

19. THANK YOU
May 17, 2018 Dr. S. S. Hanah, Scientist - LPM