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Mota-Rojas D, Pereira AMF, Martínez-Burnes J, Domínguez-Oliva A, Mora-Medina P, Casas-Alvarado A, Rios-Sandoval J, de Mira Geraldo A, Wang D. Thermal Imaging to Assess the Health Status in Wildlife Animals under Human Care: Limitations and Perspectives. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12243558. [PMID: 36552478 PMCID: PMC9774956 DOI: 10.3390/ani12243558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Promoting animal welfare in wildlife species under human care requires the implementation of techniques for continuously monitoring their health. Infrared thermography is a non-invasive tool that uses the radiation emitted from the skin of animals to assess their thermal state. However, there are no established thermal windows in wildlife species because factors such as the thickness or color of the skin, type/length of coat, or presence of fur can influence the readings taken to obtain objective, sensitive values. Therefore, this review aims to discuss the usefulness and application of the ocular, nasal, thoracic, abdominal, and podal anatomical regions as thermal windows for evaluating zoo animals' thermal response and health status. A literature search of the Web of Science, Science Direct, and PubMed databases was performed to identify relevant studies that used IRT with wild species as a complementary diagnostic tool. Implementing IRT in zoos or conservation centers could also serve as a method for determining and monitoring optimal habitat designs to meet the needs of specific animals. In addition, we analyze the limitations of using IRT with various wildlife species under human care to understand better the differences among animals and the factors that must be considered when using infrared thermography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Mota-Rojas
- Neurophysiology, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, Department of Agricultural and Animal Production, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) Unidad Xochimilco, Mexico City 04960, Mexico
- Correspondence:
| | - Alfredo M. F. Pereira
- Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development (MED), Institute for Advanced Studies and Research, Universidade de Évora, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal
| | - Julio Martínez-Burnes
- Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Victoria City 87000, Mexico
| | - Adriana Domínguez-Oliva
- Neurophysiology, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, Department of Agricultural and Animal Production, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) Unidad Xochimilco, Mexico City 04960, Mexico
| | - Patricia Mora-Medina
- Facultad de Estudios Superiores Cuautitlán, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Cuautitlan Izcalli 54714, Mexico
| | - Alejandro Casas-Alvarado
- Neurophysiology, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, Department of Agricultural and Animal Production, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) Unidad Xochimilco, Mexico City 04960, Mexico
| | - Jennifer Rios-Sandoval
- Neurophysiology, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, Department of Agricultural and Animal Production, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) Unidad Xochimilco, Mexico City 04960, Mexico
| | - Ana de Mira Geraldo
- Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development (MED), Institute for Advanced Studies and Research, Universidade de Évora, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal
| | - Dehua Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
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Queiroz JPAFD, Souza-Junior JBF, Oliveira VRDM, Costa LLDM, Oliveira MFD. How does Spix's yellow-toothed cavy (Galea spixii Wagler, 1831) face the thermal challenges of the Brazilian tropical dry forest? J Therm Biol 2020; 88:102525. [PMID: 32126000 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2020.102525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this work was to investigate the thermal biology of the Spix's yellow-toothed cavy (Galea spixii) from the hot and dry environment of the Brazilian Caatinga by infrared thermography and biophysical equations. We monitored the rectal temperature, as well as the non-evaporative (radiative and convective pathways) and evaporative heat exchanges of males and females. The mean rectal temperature of females and males was 37.58 ± 0.02 and 37.47 ± 0.02 °C, respectively. We identified thermal windows by infrared thermography. The surface temperatures and the long-wave radiation heat exchanges were higher in the periocular, preocular, pinnae and vibrissae regions, in that order. The surface temperature of the periocular and preocular regions correlated positively with rectal temperature. Convective heat exchange was insignificant for thermoregulation by G. spixii. Evaporative heat loss increased when the thermal environment inhibited the radiative pathway. Females showed higher evaporative thermolysis than males at times of greater thermal challenge, suggesting a lower tolerance to heat stress. Therefore, infrared thermography identified the thermal windows, which represented the first line of defense against overheating in G. spixii. The periocular and preocular surface temperatures could be used as predictors of the thermal state of G. spixii.
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