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Meat Science
Abstract Volume 162, April 2020, 108025 Physiological alterations of poultry to the
Introduction high environmental temperature
Journal of Thermal Biology, Volume 76, 2018, p…
Section snippets Review Mayada R. Farag, Mahmoud Alagawany

References (186) Effects of heat stress on animal physiology,

Effect of heat stress on performance and
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2019.108025 Get rights and content

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Abstract

Heat stress is one of the most stressful events in the life of livestock with harmful
consequences for animal health, productivity and product quality. Ruminants, pigs and
poultry are susceptible to heat stress due to their rapid metabolic rate and growth, high
level of production, and species-specific characteristics such as rumen fermentation,
sweating impairment, and skin insulation. Acute heat stress immediately before
slaughter stimulates muscle glycogenolysis and can result in pale, soft and exudative
(PSE) meat characterized by low water holding capacity (WHC). By contrast, animals
subjected to chronic heat stress, have reduced muscle glycogen stores resulting in dark,
firm and dry (DFD) meat with high ultimate pH and high WHC. Furthermore, heat
stress leads to oxidative stress, lipid and protein oxidation, and reduced shelf life and
food safety due to bacterial growth and shedding. This review discusses the scientific
evidence regarding the effects of heat stress on livestock physiology and metabolism,
and their consequences for meat quality and safety.

Introduction

Heat stress is one the most stressful and expensive events in the life of livestock animals
with negative consequences for animal health, productivity and product quality. A
combination of events including augmented global temperatures and more frequent
heat waves due to global warming (IPCC, 2018) and the relocation of animal production
into unfamiliar tropical environments to meet the increased demand of animal-derived
products, have together augmented the risk of heat stress in livestock (See Ratnakaran
et al. (2017) for review).

Economic losses in the livestock industry associated with heat stress include slow
growth rates, reduced fertility, increased veterinary costs, inconsistent carcass quality
and composition, reduced market weights and increased animal welfare issues. The
annual economic losses to the US beef and poultry industries due to heat stress were
estimated to be $369 million and $128 million, respectively, almost two decades ago
(St-Pierre, Cobanov, and Schnitkey, 2003). In the absence of current data, we can
assume that the current costs of heat stress are likely to be greater, particularly as the
consequences of climate change become more apparent. More recently, and despite
heat stress abatement strategies, the annual economic losses to the US swine industry
during the summer months were estimated to be $900 million (Pollmann, 2010).
Unfortunately, the harmful consequences of heat stress to animal health and
production are likely to continue in the future, particularly if selection for improved
production traits is prioritised against thermotolerance and climate adaptation.

Pigs, poultry and ruminants are susceptible to heat stress due to their rapid metabolic
rate, increased basal metabolic heat production, fast growth, and high level of
production. Pigs and poultry are particularly prone to heat stress due to the lack of
functional sweat glands and skin insulation provided by the subcutaneous fat in the
former and by feathers in the latter. In the case of ruminants, the heat released during
feed fermentation in the rumen contributes to increasing the metabolic heat production
and jeopardises their thermoregulation ability (Kadzere, Murphy, Silanikove, & Maltz,
2002; Tajima et al., 2007).

Acute heat stress immediately before slaughter accelerates muscle glycogenolysis,

increases lactic acid concentration, and produces a rapid decrease in muscle pH early
post-mortem while the carcass is still hot (Owens, Alvarado, & Sams, 2009). This
results in pale, soft and exudative (PSE) meat characterized by lower water holding
capacity (WHC) commonly observed in poultry and pigs (Adzitey & Nurul, 2011; Freitas
et al., 2017; Santos et al., 1997) but also recently observed in cattle (Kim, Warner, &
Rosenvold, 2014; Warner, Dunshea, Gutzke, Lau, & Kearney, 2014). By contrast,
animals subjected to chronic heat stress, have reduced muscle glycogen reserves,
leading to lower production of lactic acid, resulting in dark, firm and dry (DFD) meat
characterized by high ultimate pH and greater WHC, commonly observed in ruminants
(Adzitey & Nurul, 2011; Gregory, 2010; Kadim et al., 2008; Mitlöhner, Galyean, &
McGlone, 2002) but also in pigs (D'Souza, Leury, Dunshea, & Warner, 1998).
Furthermore, augmented lipid and protein oxidation, and reduced meat shelf life and
safety due to bacterial growth and shedding have been observed during hot seasons in
several species (Mujahid, Pumford, et al., 2007; Wang, Pan, & Peng, 2009).

The objective of this review is to discuss the scientific evidence regarding the effects of
heat stress on livestock physiology and metabolism, and their consequences for
ruminant, pig and poultry meat quality and safety. Gaps in the literature are identified,
and directions for future research are suggested. Since the focus of this review is heat
stress, the effect of other stressors, including transport and handling are not included
(see Ferguson and Warner (2008) for review); however, the additive effect of handling
and transport under heat stress conditions on animal physiology, wellbeing and
product quality, cannot be ignored.

Section snippets

Thermoregulation

Homoeothermic organisms, such as ruminants, pigs and poultry, have an optimal

temperature range or thermoneutral zone where no additional energy above
maintenance is necessary for thermoregulation (Yousef, 1984). If environmental
conditions, including a combination of air temperature, solar radiation, air movement
and relative humidity (RH) increase beyond the thermoneutral zone limits, the core
body temperature increases, the ambient temperature approaches body temperature,
and evaporation by…

Stress response

Stress responses to high ambient temperature and humidity comprise mainly

autonomic responses via activation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) mediated
by catecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline) including increased respiration and
heart rate, elevated body temperature, redistribution of blood flow from the viscera to
the skin for thermoregulation, and promotion of energy utilisation from body reserves
(Chen et al., 2015, Minton, 1994), accelerating muscle glycogenolysis and…

Metabolic acidosis

Hyperventilation due to panting during heat stress produces respiratory alkalosis

(Cottrell et al., 2015; Odongo et al., 2006; West, 2003), which is rapidly compensated
via urinary excretion of HCO3−, resulting in a reduction in blood pH leading to
metabolic acidosis (Schneider, Beede, & Wilcox, 1988). During metabolic acidosis,
there is a higher dependency on anaerobic metabolism to generate energy in the muscle
converting more pyruvate to lactate which will continue early post-mortem…

Poultry

Heat stress is currently one of the main environmental stressors affecting the
productivity and welfare of poultry in intensive and extensive systems worldwide (Lara
& Rostagno, 2013). Modern poultry genotypes appear to be more affected by heat
stress, than non-selected or indigenous breeds, because of their elevated metabolic heat
production and faster growth rate. Indeed, there is a strong negative correlation
between body temperature, heat tolerance, and traits of economic importance (Cooper
…
Effect of heat stress on meat safety

The colonisation of livestock animals by enteric pathogens such as Salmonella,

Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Campylobacter, and their dissemination into human
food is a major concern for the economy and public health (Rostagno, 2009). There is
increasing evidence demonstrating that stress has a significant deleterious effect on
meat organoleptic qualities and safety. However, while there are reports linking stress
with pathogen carriage and shedding in farm animals, the underlying mechanisms…

Conclusion

The physiologic and metabolic responses associated with heat stress in ruminants, pigs
and poultry have a profound link with meat quality via the establishment of acute and
chronic stress responses, reduction in muscle glycogen and protein concentration and
redistribution of fat stores. Dehydration, in turn, also reduces live weight and muscle
dry matter. Heat stress further induces oxidative stress, cellular damage and increased
expression of HSPs and all of those can be associated with…

Declaration of competing interest

None.…

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