Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2026
Abstract
Farm animal welfare is assessed for compliance with legislation and labelling schemes, to evaluate the impacts of management change and for animal welfare research. Here, we ask: how can we assess how the animal experiences its life on farm? Animal welfare is what the animal experiences and spans from very negative to very positive emotional states. Welfare is influenced by nutrition, the environment, health and the behavioural interactions that animals have, integrated through the impacts that these have on the mental state of the animal. Whilst we can often readily measure and describe the conditions under which the animal is housed on farm (inputs), and the physical state of the animal within these conditions, these are not sufficient to tell us what the animal is experiencing. The Gold Standard for animal welfare, therefore, would be a measure that tells us something about the mental state of the animal. Currently, this is not considered a directly measurable entity, and it may remain a hypothetical rather than a realistic construct in welfare assessment. Thus, welfare assessment relies on a series of measurable outputs, or indicators, that serve as proxies for the welfare state. Emotional state and welfare are then inferred from these measures. Animal-based measures are considered the most relevant to understanding animal experience, although these require rigorous assessment of the validity and reliability of measurement. Many animal-based measures rely on the assessment of behaviour. These may be ongoing changes in response, such as approach or avoidance, facial expression, Qualitative Behaviour Assessment and circadian rhythms or complex patterns of behaviour, such as preferences, motivational priorities, or perceptions, which allow deeper insight into the likely mental state of the animal. Many measures are only suitable for research purposes at present and can be challenging to assess on farm, but some may be amenable to the use of sensors or automated methods in the future. These have technological and ethical challenges to overcome and require an understanding of what is being measured and how this relates to the animal’s mental state but may offer opportunities for continual assessment of animal behaviour and welfare in the future. Currently, however, theoretical understanding of animal welfare, particularly positive welfare and cumulative ‘Quality of Life’, is not well-captured in existing on−farm welfare assessment. We conclude that there is a need for a more comprehensive and integrated approach to the development of methods that can truly address the animal’s experience on farm.
Authors
Darius KviklysAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Darius KviklysAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Darius KviklysAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Darius KviklysAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Darius KviklysAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Darius KviklysAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Darius KviklysAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Darius KviklysAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Akhil Reddy Pashapu Sigridur Dalmannsdottir Marit Jørgensen Odd Arne Rognli Mallikarjuna Rao KoviAbstract
The predicted increase in frequency and duration of winter warming episodes (WWEs) at higher northern latitudes is expected to negatively impact the forage production in this region. The formation of non-permeable ice cover due to WWEs creates hypoxic or anoxic conditions for plants, leading to severe winter damage. Knowledge about molecular mechanisms underlying various winter stresses, including ice encasement, is crucial to develop cultivars with better winter survival under changing climatic conditions. To date, very little is known about the molecular stress responses under ice encasement stress. To address this knowledge gap, in this study, we aimed to study ice encasement stress responses at the molecular level in the perennial forage grass timothy (Phleum pratense L.) by RNAseq. Genes encoding ethylene-responsive transcription factors, alcohol dehydrogenase 3, pyruvate decarboxylase 2, pyruvate kinase 1, dehydrins, early response to dehydration 15, glutathione reductase, and superoxide dismutase were highly upregulated under ice encasement conditions. KEGG enrichment analysis identified glycolysis, glutathione metabolism, and fructose and mannose metabolism as highly enriched among upregulated genes, whereas photosynthesis, flavonoid biosynthesis, motor proteins, and glycerolipid metabolism were highly enriched among downregulated genes. As initially hypothesized based on the nature of stress, the results indicate a substantial overlap of ice encasement stress responses with those of hypoxia and freezing stresses. Based on our findings and a comprehensive literature review on freezing and hypoxia stress responses, together with physiological studies of plants under ice encasement, we outline the potential mechanisms behind higher ice encasement tolerance in timothy.