In a recent review on the concept of fish welfare, I argue that concern on fish welfare is definitively a genuine matter, and the main challenge is to find valid methodologies to evaluate this internal state in these animals. I also argue in that review that studies on fish preference should be emphasized, instead of frustrated attempts to empirically demonstrate sentience in the non-human animals. From this theoretical background, in the present text I examine more detailed the preference tests, […]

The study of great grazing areas, mainly so that concerns the use for the animals, it is difficult, so much in the sampling form, as in the way to analyze the obtained data. In that context the Geographical Information System (GIS) it appears as useful tool, capable to make possible ecological and behavior studies associated to the use of the space and of the resources in him allocated. Among the main tools of a GIS with importance for the study […]

The market demands, since the end of the 1920s the market demands a technology for spermatozoa sexing that can be inserted in the industry to production of frozen semen and that has the following features: a) does not change sperm viability; b) it be compatible with freezing of spermatozoa after treatment for sexing; c) it allows the spermatozoa sexing after their thawing; d) it allows the production of various doses of sexed frozen semen per day at a compatible cost […]

Feeds for pigs can be attributed different energy values according to, first, the step considered in energy utilization (DE: digestible energy, ME: metabolizable energy and NE: net energy) and, second, the method used for estimation at each step. Reference methods for evaluating DE content are based on in vivo digestibility measurements; indirect estimates of DE values are obtained from in vitro methods or prediction equations based on chemical characteristics. Methods have also been proposed for estimating urinary energy (and gas […]

Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite navigation receivers are increasingly being used in ecological and behavioural studies to track the movements of animals in relation to the environments in which they live and forage. Concurrent recording of the animal’s foraging behaviour (e.g. from jaw movement recording) allows foraging locations to be determined. By combining the animal GPS movement and foraging data with habitat and vegetation maps using a Geographical Information System (GIS) it is possible to relate animal movement and foraging […]

The objective of this paper is to present some of the issues faced by those whose interest is to predict responses in poultry, concentrating mainly on those related to the prediction of voluntary food intake, as this should be the basis of models designed to optimise both performance and feeding programmes. The value of models designed to predict growth or reproductive performance has been improved inestimably by making food intake an output from, as opposed to an input to, such […]

Genetical genomics experiments combine information on phenotypic traits, molecular markers and gene expression to study the genetic mechanisms governing variation in complex traits. Such studies can be used, for example, to estimate heritabilities of mRNA transcript abundances, to map expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL), and to infer regulatory gene networks. Microarray experiments, however, can be extremely costly and time consuming, which may limit sample sizes and statistical power. Thus it is crucial to optimize experimental designs by carefully choosing the […]

During the assimilation and use of food process, the animals’ organism can develop different metabolic responses. These responses results of complex integration mechanisms, involving the neuro-endocrine systems and organs activity, were being influenced, besides the diet, for the animal species, age, physiologic condition and corporal composition. In this paper will be discussed the physiologic importance and study methods of carbohydrates post-prandial responses, as well as the physiologic alterations induced by diet electrolytic balance. Amount, chemical composition and industrial processing of […]

Grasslands are being replaced by urbanization and more profitable agricultural activities around the world. Producers may be faced with land constraints and need to consider intensification of the remaining grasslands as a means of maintaining overall production on a decreasing land resource. However, intensification of the grazing system is usually associated with greater nutrient inputs, including those from commercial fertilizers and supplement fed to animals. Excessive loading of nutrients in intensive grazing systems via fertilizer and animal wastes can cause […]

The last twenty years have been characterized by some remarkable technological advances in the field of genomics which were essential to unveil the genome of varies species. Furthermore, these genomic advances contributed to pinpoint particularities in genome sequences which might be associated with phenotypic variations, therefore, it became possible to study functions associated with specific sequences in a more holistic context within biological systems. More importantly, the blossoming in genomics contributed to a better understanding on the mechanisms that control […]