Browsing by Author "Farias, Sharacely de Souza"

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Inheriting the Sins of Their Fathers: Boar Life Experiences Can Shape the Emotional Responses of Their Offspring
(Frontiers Media Sa, 2023) Sabei, Leandro; Sarmiento, Marisol Parada; Bernardino, Thiago; Cakmakci, Cihan; Farias, Sharacely de Souza; Sato, Denis; Zanella, Adroaldo Jose
IntroductionThe welfare of breeding boars is often overlooked, resulting in limited scientific data to foster discussion of the topic. We aimed to investigate the effect of different boar housing conditions on their offspring's emotionality. MethodsEighteen boars were housed in three different conditions: crates (C; n = 6), pens (P; n = 6), or enriched pens (E; n = 6). Boars were distributed by semen quality (SQ; high, medium, or low). Three semen pools were used to inseminate 13 gilts housed in outdoor paddocks. At 25 days of age, 138 suckling piglets were subjected to open field (OF), novel object (NO), and elevated plus-maze (EPM) tests. Saliva was collected before and after the OF and NO tests to measure cortisol concentrations. At the end of the experiment, hair samples were collected for DNA paternity tests. Piglets were classified based on their behavioral responses using hierarchical cluster analysis of the principal components extracted from factor analysis of mixed data. The variables were reduced to seven principal components (dimensions, Dims), which explained 73% of the total variation, and were analyzed using linear mixed models. The models included each Dim as a dependent variable, paternal treatment and body weight (BW) as fixed effects, and paternal SQ as a random effect. Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were used to compare the cortisol concentration ratios (before and after the OF and NO tests) between groups. ResultsThere was an effect of treatment on Dim 3 (EPM; activity/fear), with higher values in C piglets than E piglets (p = 0.047). Although C piglets had significantly higher values than P piglets in Dim 4 (EPM; anxiety; p = 0.029) and Dim 6 (NO; inactivity far from the object/exploration; p < 0.0001), the effect of the paternal treatment x BW interaction was significant in both dimensions (p < 0.05). The cortisol ratio in E piglets was greater than that in P and C piglets (p < 0.05). Discussion and conclusionOur findings indicate that boar breeding environments affect the stress response and emotionality (anxiety, fear, and exploration) of their offspring.
Social Networks of Pregnant Gilts During Outdoor Feeding and the Effects on Their Offspring
(Elsevier, 2024) Sabei, Leandro; Sarmiento, Marisol Parada; Cakmakci, Cihan; Farias, Sharacely de Souza; Bernardino, Thiago; Poletto, Rosangela; Zanella, Adroaldo Jose
Social relationships are important aspects of the behavioural biology of pigs and can be affected by the type of housing pigs are kept in. Exploring agonistic interactions and affiliative behaviours can reveal effects on adult pigs and their descendants. This research investigated the social dynamics among gilts throughout pregnancy during collective feeding in an outdoor housing system and the effects of these dynamics on the stability of the group and the offspring of the group members. For this study, 15 gilts were oestrus synchronised and artificially inseminated with three different semen pools. The paddocks where the gilts were housed contained a mud pool, natural tree shade, and two nipple drinkers. Two daily meals (similar to 2.5 kg/day/gilt) were provided to the group on the floor. Feeding behaviour was recorded for three continuous days (20 min in the morning and again in the afternoon) every gestational (a total of 42 h of video recording). Saliva samples were collected at 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on these same days. A trained observer evaluated all the videos using Boris software to determine agonistic and affiliative behaviours. After farrowing, the piglet data collected included sex, mortality, and body weight (BW) at 10, 25, 29, and 36 d of age. Elo scores were calculated to quantify the relative hierarchy among the gilts based on the behaviour assessment. Generalised linear mixed models (GLMMs) were used for data analyses, and the significance of fixed effects was determined at p < 0.05. The tendency of the gilts to feed together decreased as gestation progressed. Heavier gilts had lower salivary cortisol concentrations, and higher gilt rank was correlated with higher morning salivary cortisol concentrations and heavier piglets. Maternal modulation of offspring performance in pigs warrant further investigation. Assessment of gilts' social feeding behaviours is relevant for considering pigs' behaviour in genetic selection and improving commercial facilities and management practices to improve animal welfare.