Effect of solar radiation and temperature on methane emissions associated with the production and heat loss in cattle

• Grant number: 13/04352-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: April 05, 2013
• End date: May 04, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Ecology of Domestic Animals and Ethology
• Principal Investigator: Alex Sandro Campos Maia
• Grantee: Cíntia Carol de Melo Costa
• Supervisor: Tony Waterhouse
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Scotland's Rural College, Edinburgh (SRUC), Scotland
• Associated to the scholarship: 11/16695-2 - Effect of solar radiation and temperature on methane emissions associated to heat production and heat loss in cattle, BP.MS

Abstract

The relationship between the environment and living beings is highlighted in the social and scientific range due to climate change, natural disasters, depletion of natural resources, in addition, there is concern in offering alternatives to ensure the well-being of humans and animals and increase production. One of the main gases that aggravate global warming is methane (CH4) and higher emissions of this gas in Brazil comes from the agricultural sector, and the cattle a major contributor to this statistic, since the country has the largest mall in the world. The scientific contributions related to the release of methane from bovine respiratory system associated with latent metabolic heat production is negligible, but also works in that area do not relate these variables with the thermal conditions of the environment. Studies to measure metabolic heat production, mostly, are conducted in environmental chambers under these environmental conditions are easily controlled. Another fact to be mentioned is that in a tropical environment there are few studies addressing this context. Scientific studies that measure CH4 also use the same technique, namely, in chambers remain confined animals, limiting them to a controlled environment. There are also techniques to measure the emission of CH4 using other highly polluting gases, such as SF6. This work is of significant importance, since it can measure the concomitant metabolic heat production and emission of methane using a face mask (indirect calorimetry).This allows even perform this study with animals submitted to natural environmental conditions, ie, one can evaluate the relationship between weather conditions and under physiological metabolism, production and emission of CH4 by the respiratory system. So being able to contribute to the scientific scope with new information about this subject. (AU)