A new proposal for the use of the focal animal technique in buffaloes in the Eastern Amazon

Welligton Conceição da Silva; Jamile Andréa Rodrigues da Silva; Amauri Gouveia Júnior; Adriano Braga Brasileiro de Alvarenga; Antônio Vinícius Correa Barbosa; Éder Bruno Rebelo da Silva; Maria Roseane Pereira Dos Santos; José de Brito Lourenço-Júnior; Raimundo Nonato Colares Camargo Júnior; André Guimarães Maciel E Silva

doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1266451

A new proposal for the use of the focal animal technique in buffaloes in the Eastern Amazon

Front Vet Sci. 2023 Nov 8:10:1266451. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1266451. eCollection 2023.

Affiliations

¹ Postgraduate Program in Animal Science (PPGCAN), Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Para (UFPA), Federal Rural University of the Amazônia (UFRA), Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), Castanhal, Brazil.
² Institute of Animal Health and Production, Federal Rural University of the Amazônia (UFRA), Belém, Brazil.
³ Laboratory of Neuroscience and Behavior, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Animal Sciences, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil.
⁵ Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Castanhal, Pará, Brazil.
⁶ Cyberspace Institute, Federal Rural University of the Amazônia (UFRA), Belém, Brazil.
⁷ Institute of Engineering and Geosciences, Federal University of Western Pará (UFOPA), Santarém, Brazil.

Abstract

This study aims to present a proposal for using the focal animal recording technique to evaluate the welfare of buffaloes and to verify the association between each behavior and thermal comfort indices. The study was conducted in an experimental paddock located in Santarém, Pará, Brazil. A total of 10 female Murrah animals were used. The behavior of the animals was recorded during the day, with the use of three trained observers, for 72 consecutive h. Climatic variables were collected, and the Temperature-Humidity Index (THI) and the practical Buffalo Comfort Climatic Conditions Index (BCCCIp) were determined. The multivariate technique of principal components and Spearman's correlation were employed. BCCCIp and THI were outside the thermal comfort zone at different times of the day. Grazing (P) was more frequent in the coldest hours of the day, while rumination occurred at different periods, mainly during the daytime and frequently in a lying position. There was a positive correlation between idle lying behavior and average temperature-Tmed (r = 0.583; p < 0.028), THI (r = 0.432; p < 0.034), and BCCCIp (r = 0.554; p < 0.049). There was a positive correlation between grazing and Tmed (r = 0.665; p < 0.0004) and BCCCIp (r = 0.583; p < 0.036). The standing idle behavior negatively correlated with Tmed (r = -0.718; p < 0.0001), THI (r = -0.522; p < 0.008), and BCCCIp (r = -0.8076; p < 0.0008). The lying ruminating behavior had a positive correlation with Tmed (r = 0.586; p < 0.002), THI (r = 0.477; p < 0.018), and BCCCIp (r = 0.8033; p < 0.0009). Furthermore, ruminating while standing correlated positively with Tmed (r = 0.680; p < 0.0003). The adaptation of the focal animal technique, with six observers evaluating each animal for 6 min through filming, proved to be efficient in pointing out the different behaviors of buffalo raised in Eastern Amazon fields under heat stress at different times of the day.

Keywords: animal behavior; buffalo; ethogram; observation technique; snapshot recording.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was funded in part by the Federal University of Pará and the Coordenação de Aperfei-çoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Brasil. This study also received financial support for the publication fee from the Pró-Reitoria de Pes-quisa e Pós-Graduação (PROPESP/UFPA – Announcement – 02/2023).