Elena Gala, Agustı´n del Prado - Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Leioa, Spain

Pol Llonch  - Departament of Animal and Food Science, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Bellaterra (UAB), Spain

Arantxa Villagra - Centro de Investigacio´n en Tecnologı´a Animal (CITA), Valencian Institute for Agricultura Research (IVIA), Segorbe, Spain

Severino Pinto - Engineering for Livestock Management, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy, (ATB), Potsdam, Germany

Projected temperature rise in the upcoming years due to climate change has increased

interest in studying the effects of heat stress in dairy cows. Environmental indices are commonly

used for detecting heat stress, but have been used mainly in studies focused on the

productivity-related effects of heat stress. The welfare approach involves identifying physiological

and behavioural measurements so as to start heat stress mitigation protocols before

the appearance of impending severe health or production issues. Therefore, there is growing

interest in studying the effects of heat stress on welfare. This systematic review seeks to

summarise the animal-based responses to heat stress (physiological and behavioural,

excluding productivity) that have been used in scientific literature.

Published: November 1, 2018