Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T03:07:19.513Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of high altitude and season on fasting heat production in the yak Bos grunniens or Poephagus grunniens

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Xing-Tai Han ,
Ao-Yun Xie ,
Xi-Chao Bi ,
Shu-Jie Liu  and
Ling-Hao Hu
Xing-Tai Han*
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Science, Qinghai Academy of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 810003, Xining, Qinghai, China
Ao-Yun Xie
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Science, Qinghai Academy of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 810003, Xining, Qinghai, China
Xi-Chao Bi
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Science, Qinghai Academy of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 810003, Xining, Qinghai, China
Shu-Jie Liu
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Science, Qinghai Academy of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 810003, Xining, Qinghai, China
Ling-Hao Hu
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Science, Qinghai Academy of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 810003, Xining, Qinghai, China
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Xing-Tai Han, present address: Instituto di Zootechnica, Facoltà di Agraria, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 29100, Piacenza, Italy, fax +39 0523 599276, email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Thirty growing yaks Bos grunniens or Poephagus grunniens, 1·0–3·5 years and 50–230kg, from their native altitudes (3000–4000m), were used to study the basal metabolism in this species and to evaluate the effects of high altitude and season on the energy metabolism. Fasting heat production (FHP) was measured at altitudes of 2260, 3250 and 4270m on the Tibetan plateau in both the summer and the winter, after a 90d adaptation period at each experimental site. Gas exchanges of the whole animals were determined continuously for 3d (4–5 times per d, 10–12 min each time) after a 96 h starvation period, using closed-circuit respiratory masks. Increasing altitude at similar ambient temperature (Ta) did not affect (P>0·10) FHP in the summer, but decreased (P<0·05) it at different Ta in the winter. However, the decrease of FHP in the winter was mainly due to the decrease of Ta instead of the increase of altitude. In the summer, the respiratory rate, heart rate and body temperature were unaffected by altitude, except for a decrease (P<0·05) in body temperature at 4270m; in the winter, they were decreased (P<0·05) by increasing altitude. In both seasons, the RER was decreased (P<0·05) by increasing altitude. At all altitudes for all groups, the daily FHP was higher (P<0·05) in the summer (Ta 6–24°C) than in the winter (Ta 0 to -30°C), and the Ta-corrected FHP averaged on 920 kJ/kg body weight0·52 at Ta 8–14°C and on 704 kJ/kg body weight0·52 at Ta -15°C respectively. We conclude that in the yak high altitude has no effect on the energy metabolism, whereas the cold ambient temperature has a significant depressing effect. The results confirm that the yak has an excellent adaptation to both high altitude and extremely cold environments.

Keywords

High altitudeSeasonFasting heat productionYak
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 88 , Issue 2 , August 2002 , pp. 189 - 197
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2002

References

Agricultural Research Council (1980) The Nutrient Requirement of Ruminant Livestock. London: Commonwealth Agriculture Bureaux.Google Scholar
Armellini, F, Zamboni, M, Robbi, R, Todesco, T, Bissoli, L, Mino, A, Angelini, G, Micciolo, R & Bosello, O (1997) The effects of high altitude trekking on body composition and resting metabolic rate. Hormone and Metabolic Research 29, 458–461.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bencowitz, HZ, Wagner, PD & West, JB (1982) Effect of change in P O2 on exercise tolerance at high altitude: a theoretical study. Journal of Applied Physiology 53, 1487–1495.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blaxter, KL (1978) The effect of stimulated altitude on the heat increment of feed in sheep. British Journal of Nutrition 39, 659–661.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaxter, KL & Wainman, FW (1961) Environmental temperature and the energy metabolism and heat emission of steers. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 56, 81–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouverot, P, Collin, R, Favier, R, Flandrois, R & Sebert, P (1981) Carotid chemoreceptor function in ventilatory and circulatory O2 convection of exercising dogs at low and high altitude. Respiratory Physiology 43, 147–167.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brosh, A, Beneke, G, Fennell, S, Wright, D, Aharoni, Y & Young, B (1994) Prediction of energy expenditure by heart rate measurements in cattle: the effect of exercise, diet and sun radiation. In Energy Metabolism of Farm Animals. Proceedings of the 13th International Symposium, EAAP Publication no. 76, pp. 35–38Mojácar, Spain: EAAP.Google Scholar
Brouwer, E (1965) Report of subcommittee on constants and factors. In Energy Metabolism, EAAP Publication no. 11, pp. 441 [Blaxter, KL, editor]. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Butterfield, GE, Gates, J, Fleming, S, Brooks, GA, Sutton, JR & Reeves, JT (1992) Increased energy intake minimizes weight loss in men at high altitude. Journal of Applied Physiology 72, 1741–1748.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cai, L & Wiener, G (1995) The Yak. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand.Google Scholar
Chiodi, H (1957) Respiratory adaptations to chronic high altitude hypoxia. Journal of Applied Physiology 10, 81–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dempsey, JA & Forster, HV (1982) Mediation of ventilatory adaptations. Physiological Review 62, 262–346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forster, HV, Bisgard, GE & Klein, JP (1981) Effect of peripheral chemorecepter denervation on acclimatization of goats during hypoxia. Journal of Applied Physiology 50, 392–398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forster, HV, Bisgard, GE, Rasmussen, B, Orr, JA, Buss, DD & Manohar, M (1976) Ventilatory control in peripheral chemorecepter denervated ponies during chronic hypoxemia. Journal of Applied Physiology 41, 878–885.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frappell, P, Lanthier, C, Baudinette, RV & Mortola, JP (1992) Metabolism and ventilation in acute hypoxia: a comparative analysis in small mammalian species. American Journal of Physiology 262, R1040–R1046.Google ScholarPubMed
Gautier, H (1996) Interactions among metabolic rate, hypoxia, and control of breathing. Journal of Applied Physiology 81, 521–527.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gautier, H & Bonora, M (1992) Ventilatory and metabolic responses to cold and hypoxia in intact and carotid body-denervated rats. Journal of Applied Physiology 73, 847–854.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gill, MB & Pugh, LGC (1964) Basal metabolism and respiration in men living at 5800 m (19,000 ft). Journal of Applied Physiology 19, 949–954.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grover, RF (1963) Basal oxygen uptake of man at high altitude. Journal of Applied Physiology 18, 909–912.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Han, XT (1990) Factors affecting fasting metabolism in ruminants. Qinghai Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences 20(4), 30–33.Google Scholar
Han, XT, Bi, XC, Xie, AY & Hu, LH (1993) The energy metabolism of growing yaks. Qinghai Animal Industry 1, 20–23.Google Scholar
Han, XT, Chen, J & Han, ZK (1998) Ruminal nitrogen metabolism and the flows of nitrogen fractions reaching the duodenum of growing yaks fed diets containing different levels of crude protein. Acta Zoonutrimenta Sinica 10(1), 34–43.Google Scholar
Han, XT, Liu, SJ, Bi, XC, Wang, WB, Xie, AY & Hu, LH (1992) The thermoneutrality zone and the regularity of heat production beyond the zone in fasted growing yaks. Qinghai Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences 22(2), 18–20.Google Scholar
Han, XT & Xie, AY (1991) The maintenance energy requirement of growing yaks. Qinghai Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences 21(1), 10–11.Google Scholar
Han, XT, Xie, AY, Bi, XC, Liu, SJ & Hu, LH (2002) Effects of altitude, ambient temperature and solar radiation on fasting heat production in yellow cattle. British Journal of Nutrition (In the Press).Google Scholar
Han, XT, Xue, B, Du, JZ & Hu, LH (2001) Net fluxes of peptide and amino acid across mesenteric-drained and portal-drained viscera of yak cows fed a straw–concentrate diet at maintenance level. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 136, 119–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hannon, JP (1978) Comparative altitude adaptability of men and women. In Environmental Stress: Individual Human Adaptations, pp. 335–350 [Folinsbee, LJ, Wagner, JA, Borgia, JF, Drinkwater, BL, Gliner, JA and Bedi, JF, editors]. New York, NY: Academic.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hannon, JP, Klain, GJ, Sudman, DM & Sulivan, FJ (1976) Nutritional aspects of high altitude exposure in women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 29, 604–613.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hannon, JP, Shields, JL & Harris, CW (1969) Anthropometric changes associated with high altitude acclimatization in women. American Journal of Physiological Anthropology 31, 77–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hannon, JP & Sudman, DM (1973) Basal metabolic and cardiovascular function of women during altitude acclimatization. Journal of Applied Physiology 34, 471–477.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hayes, JP (1989 a) Field and maximal metabolic rates of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) at low and high altitudes. Physiological Zoology 62, 732–744.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, JP (1989 b) Altitude and seasonal effects on aerobic metabolism of deer mice. Journal of Comparative Physiology 159B, 453–459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemingway, A & Nahas, GG (1952) Effect of varying degrees of hypoxia on temperature regulation. American Journal of Physiology 170, 426–433.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hill, JR (1959) The oxygen consumption of new-born and adult mammals. Its dependence on the oxygen tension in the inspired air and on the environmental temperature. Journal of Physiology, London 149, 346–373.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hou, PC & Huang, SP (1999) Metabolic and ventilatory responses to hypoxia in two altitudinal populations of the toad, Bufo bankorensis. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 124A, 413–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, LH, Xie, AY & Han, XT (1994) Study on the body surface areas of growing yaks and cattle. Chinese Journal of Animal Science 30(6), 9–10.Google Scholar
Kellogg, RH, Pace, N, Archibald, ER & Vaughan, BE (1957) Respiratory response to inspired CO2 during acclimatization to an altitude of 12,470 feet. Journal of Applied Physiology 11, 665–671.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lahiri, S (1968) Alveolar gas pressures in man with life-time hypoxia. Respiratory Physiology 4, 373–386.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mawson, JT, Braun, B, Rock, PB, Moore, LG, Mazzeo, R & Butterfield, GE (2000) Women at altitude: energy requirement at 4300 m. Journal of Applied Physiology 88, 272–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, LG, Cymerman, A, Huang, SY, McCullough, RE, McCullough, RG, Rock, PB, Young, A, Young, P, Weil, JV & Reeves, JT (1987) Propranolol blocks metabolic rate increase but not ventilatory acclimatization to 4,300 m. Respiratory Physiology 70, 195–205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mortola, JP & Rezzonico, R (1988) Metabolic and ventilatory rates in newborn kittens during acute hypoxia. Respiratory Physiology 73, 55–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mortola, JP, Rezzonico, R & Lanthier, C (1989) Ventilation and oxygen consumption during acute hypoxia in newborn mammals: a comparative analysis. Respiratory Physiology 78, 31–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Research Council (1984) Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
Piiper, J, Cerretelli, P, Cuttica, F & Mangili, F (1966) Energy metabolism and circulation in dogs exercising in hypoxia. Journal of Applied Physiology 21, 1143–1149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Richards, JI & Lawrence, PR (1984) The estimation of energy expenditure from heart rate measurements in working oxen and buffalo. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 102, 711–717.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenmann, M & Morrison, P (1975) Metabolic response of highland and lowland rodents to simulated high altitudes and cold. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 51A, 523–530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saiki, C, Matsuoka, T & Mortola, JP (1994) Metabolic–ventilatory interaction in conscious rats: effect of hypoxia and ambient temperature. Journal of Applied Physiology 76, 1594–1599.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Staples, JF, Hershkowitz, JJ & Boutilier, RG (2000) Effects of ambient P O2 and temperature on oxygen uptake in. Nautilus pompilius. Journal of Comparative Physiology 170B, 231–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stock, MJ, Norton, NG, Ferro-Luzzi, A & Evans, E (1978) Effect of altitude on dietary-induced thermogenesis at rest and during light exercise in man. Journal of Applied Physiology 45, 345–349.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Terzioglu, M & Aykut, R (1954) Variations in basal metabolic rate at 1·85 km altitude. Journal of Applied Physiology 7, 329–332.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Turek, Z, Kreuzer, F & Hoofd, LJC (1973) Advantage or disadvantage of decrease of blood oxygen affinity for tissue oxygen supply at hypoxia. Pflügers Archiv 342, 185–197.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Webster, AJF (1967) Continuous measurement of heart rate as an indicator of the expenditure of sheep. British Journal of Nutrition 21, 769–785.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
West, JB (1984) Human physiology at extreme altitudes on Mount Everest. Science 223, 784–788.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xue, B, Chai, ST, Liu, SJ & Wang, WB (1994) Study on the protein requirement of growing yaks. In Yak Production in Central Asian Highlands. Proceedings of the First International Congress on the Yak, pp. 198–201. Lanzhou: Gansu.Google Scholar
Xue, B & Han, XT (1999) A comparative study on the protein degradability of foodstuffs in the rumen of growing yaks and growing Holsteins. Chinese Journal of Herbivore Science 1(3), 3–7.Google Scholar
Yamamoto, S, McLean, JA & Downie, AJ (1979) Estimation of heat production from heart rate measurements in cattle. British Journal of Nutrition 42, 507–513.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhuang, J, Droma, T, Sun, S, Janes, C, McCullough, RE, McCullough, RG, Cymerman, A, Huang, SY, Reeves, JT & Moore, LG (1993) Hypoxic ventilatory responsiveness in Tibetan compared with Han residents of 3658 m. Journal of Applied Physiology 74, 303–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar