Suchergebnisse

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of behavioral differences in cattle on bruising on different cuts and on carcass yield. A total of 4,061 lots of cattle were evaluated, which corresponded to 199,026 carcasses. Animal temperament was classified as calm, anxious, or excited. The following carcass cuts were evaluated: round, rump, shin, thin flank, tenderloin, and rib. Of the total number of slaughtered animals, 68.26% had at least one type of bruise with complete removal of the affected tissue. There was an interaction effect between sex and temperament on the occurrence of bruises on the different cuts and on carcass yield. In castrated males, bruises on the round, rump, shin, and tenderloin cuts did not differ between temperament classes, but the excited males showed more bruises on the thin flank and rib cuts. Among the females, for all cuts, the number of bruises was higher (P<0.05) in those with excited temperament than in the anxious and calm animals, which did not differ (P>0.05). Additionally, carcass yield relative to plant weight decreased (P<0.05), with the calm females exhibiting the highest values, followed by those with anxious and excited temperament. In the castrated males, however, although performance declined, those with anxious and excited temperament did not differ (P>0.05). Females and more reactive animals have more bruises on their carcass.

This case study examines differences between how the animal‐behavior‐research fields of ethology and sociobiology account for female ornamental traits. I address three questions: 1) Why were female traits noted in early animal‐behavior writings but not systematically studied like male traits? 2) Why did ethology attend to female signals before sexual‐selection studies did? 3) And why didn't sexual‐selection researchers cite the earlier ethological literature when they began studying female traits? To answer these questions, I turn to feminist and other science‐studies scholars and philosophers of science. My main framework is provided by Bruno Latour, whose model I position within relevant feminist critique (Latour 1999). This approach provides an interactive account of how scientific knowledge develops. I argue that this embedded approach provides a more compelling reading of the relationship between gender and science than does focusing on androcentric biases. My overall aim is to counter arguments by some feminist biologists that feminist tools should emphasize the correction and removal of biases, and to address their fears that more rigorous critiques would lead to relativism or otherwise remove science as a tool for feminist use.

Melhorar o desempenho reprodutivo é importante para aumentar a lucratividade das propriedades. Assim, nós avaliamos a contagem de folículos antrais (CFA), o escore de condição corporal (ECC), o peso vivo e o comportamento animal sobre à taxa de concepção de vacas Brahman submetidas à inseminação artificial em tempo-fixo (IATF). Vacas (n=122) receberam um protocolo convencional de IATF de três manejos (D0, 8 e 10) a base de estrógeno e progesterona, além do monitoramento da expressão de estro antes da inseminação. O ECC e o comportamento animal foram avaliados em todos os dias do protocolo, o peso foi mensurado no D0 e no diagnóstico de gestação (D40) e a CFA no D0. Para análise, estabeleceu-se os grupos de CFA (baixa, intermediária e alta), do comportamento (calma, inquieta e agitada), do peso (ganhando, mantendo e perdendo) e do ECC (ganhando, mantendo e perdendo). A taxa de concepção geral foi de 50%, e não esteve associada (p>0,05) a classificação da CFA (baixa/52,6%, intermediária/50,9% e alta/45,4%), do peso (ganhando/43,0%, mantendo/54,7% e perdendo/47,1%), do ECC (ganhando/44,0%, mantendo/54,3% e perdendo/37,5%) e do comportamento (calma/43,0%, inquieta/54,7% e agitada/47,1%). No entanto, a baixa CFA apresentou maior (p=0,05) proporção de animais com alta intensidade de estro (94,7%) e foi observado maior escore de reatividade (p=0,001) no primeiro dia de manejo da IATF em relação aos outros dias. Vacas com baixa CFA resultaram em maior proporção de expressão de estro e o primeiro dia de manejo da IATF determinou uma maior reatividade animal em relação aos outros dias do protocolo.

Palavras-chave: Condição Corporal. Inseminação Artificial. Performance Reprodutiva. Peso Vivo.

Abstract
Improving reproductive performance is important to increase farm profitability. The relationship of antral follicle count (AFC), body condition score (BCS), weight, and animal behavior on the conception rate in cows submitted to timed artificial insemination (TAI). Cows (n=122) received a conventional TAI protocol of three managements (D0, 8, and 10) based on estrogen and progesterone, in addition to monitoring estrus expression before insemination. The BCS and behavior score were assessed every day of the TAI protocol. Weight was measured at D0 and in the pregnancy diagnosis (D40), and AFC was determined at D0. For analysis, the groups were established according to AFC (low, intermediate, and high), behavior animal (calm, restless, and agitated), weight variation (gaining, maintaining, and losing), and BCS variation (gaining, maintaining, and losing). The overall conception rate was 50%, and it was not associated with (P>0.05) the AFC classification (low/52.6%, intermediate/50.9%, and high/45.4%), weight variations (gaining/43.0%, maintaining/54.7%, and losing/47.1%), BCS variations (gaining/44.0%, maintaining/54.3%, and losing/37.5%) and animal behavior (calm/43.0%, restless/54.7%, and agitated/47.1%). However, the low AFC showed a higher (P=0.05) proportion of animals with high intensity of estrus expression (94.7%). In addition, a higher score for animal reactivity (P=0.001) was noted on the first day of the management of TAI protocol than to the other days of the hormonal protocol. The low AFC resulted in a higher proportion of cows with high estrus expression and the management practices for TAI determined a greater animals reactivity at the beginning of the breeding program.

Keywords: Body Condition. Artificial Insemination. Reproductive Performance. Live Weight.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is return to some findings and approaches typical of behavioral sciences and evolutionary anthropology that will allow us to link the process of self-domestication that can be seen in our evolutionary past, the primate tendency to enter into conflicts through patterns of signal exchange rather than direct aggressions, and the development of the persuasive dimension of language, with the possible evolutionary origin of both cultural violence and structural violence.


Design/methodology/approach
The approach has been, at all times, multidisciplinary insofar as it has sought to elucidate how the inquiries made from the behavioral sciences can help to understand human violence.


Findings
What was found is the possibility of understanding conflicts as a mechanism of evolutionary pressure that has been involved not only in social restructuring but also in the evolutionary origin of the human being.


Research limitations/implications
More empirical evidence should be found in this regard.


Originality/value
This study is a multidisciplinary approach that seeks to understand both the phenomenon of violence and peace from an evolutionary perspective.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance, animal behavior, and contamination and spread of nematode larvae of sheep supplemented with increasing levels of protein (15, 25, and 35%) on Xaraés grass (Brachiaria brizantha 'Xaraés') pastures. Fifteen Santa Inês crossbred sheep, with an average age of approximately five months and average initial weight of 14.63 kg, were used in the experiment. The feeding behavior (grazing and idle times) of animals was found to be influenced by the supplementation provided. The highest level of supplementation provided to the animals reduced their grazing time. The different levels of supplementation influenced the average daily gain and total final body weight gain of the sheep in Xaraés grass pastures. A significant difference was observed in the presence of parasitic larvae in the Xaraés grass pastures depending on different protein levels throughout the regrowth period. The number of larvae in feces was influenced by the protein content of the supplement, and varied throughout the pasture rest period. Animals showed a decrease in the number of larvae as their dietary crude protein (CP) content was increased. Supplementation with high protein, together with the action of vermifuge, increased the performance of sheep and reduced their parasite load and grazing time in Xaraés grass pastures.

Thermal discomfort is one of the main causes of production losses in animals fully exposed to solar radiation under extensive livestock farming. The inclusion of trees in this farming system is the most efficient strategy to decrease the temperature and increase animal productivity without the need to explore new areas. In this context, the objective of this study was to characterize the microclimate in a silvopastoral system (SPS), a refuge area, and an open pasture, and evaluate thermal comfort and the ingestive behavior of animals under shade. The study was conducted at the Agronomic Institute of Paraná (IAPAR), located in Ibiporã, Paraná state, Brazil, in three areas with distinct management systems: a SPS of Eucalyptus grandis with Tifton 85 (Cynodon spp.), a woodland of Leucena leucocephala that provided shade to cattle, and a pasture in full sun (PFS). Automatic meteorological stations were installed in the SPS (one station beside the tree lines and the other in an average distance perpendicular to the rows), one in the refuge area, and one in the PFS. The measured variables were air temperature and relative humidity. The mean temperatures of the shaded treatments were compared to those of the PFS using a t-test. The mean values of the temperature and humidity index (THI) were calculated for each season of the year. The animal ingestion behavior in the SPS was analyzed in three typical days in different seasons of the year. Significant differences were observed between shade treatments and full-sun pasture, with a temperature decrease ranging from 0.4 to 1.6 °C in the shaded systems. The comparison of animal thermal comfort between the study areas in different seasons of the year indicated that there were no significant differences in thermal comfort between the SPS and refuge area relative to the PFS, suggesting a need to monitor the animals' body temperature to better estimate thermal comfort. The evaluation of the ingestive behavior evidenced the animals' preference to perform activities under tree shade and that the SPS led to changes in their food habits, optimizing grazing time. Therefore, the trees directly affected the microclimate of the studied environments, attenuating the temperature, protecting the animals against direct solar radiation, and providing better thermal comfort.