Seasonal changes in stress steroid hormone secretions are thought to reflect investment in self-maintenance versus reproduction. The capricious conditions hypothesis (CCH) posits that reduced corticosterone (CORT) secretion during stress coincident with parental phases of breeding is necessary in harsh environments because a full response would otherwise trigger repeated nest abandonments. To t...

New crop cultivars will be required for a changing climate characterised by increased summer drought and heat stress in Europe. However, the uncertainty in climate predictions poses a challenge to crop scientists and breeders who have limited time and resources and must select the most appropriate traits for improvement. Modelling is a powerful tool to quantify future threats to crops and hence...

Heat stress negatively impacts a variety of dairy parameters including milk yield and reproduction and therefore is a significant financial burden (~$900 million/year in the USA; St. Pierre et al., 2003) in many dairy-producing areas of the world. Advances in management (i.e. cooling systems; Armstrong, 1994; VanBaale et al., 2005) and nutritional strategies (West, 2003) have alleviated some of...

The seasonal variation of sweating responses under identical heat stress was investigated to make clear the seasonal acclimatization in daily human life on the experiments. The heat stress of 33 degrees C air temperature, 50% relative humidity laid in the experiments was chosen as a usual daytime condition in summer in metropolitan cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. Five subjects were exposed unde...

Using satellite-based wind and sea surface temperature (SST) observations, linear trend and interannual variability of wind stress, turbulent heat flux (Q) and wind stress curl are addressed for the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean (ISO, 0 ̊E 155 ̊E) for the period 2000-2009. The analysis reveals that spatial mean of Q varies between 70 and 73 Wm−2 in the austral summer and winter, respe...

Heat stress negatively impacts a variety of dairy and beef parameters including milk yield, growth and reproduction and therefore is a significant financial burden (~$900 million/year for dairy and > $300 million/year in beef in the U.S.; St. Pierre et al., 2003). Advances in management (i.e. cooling systems; Armstrong, 1994; VanBaale et al., 2005) and nutritional strategies (West, 2003) have a...

Juniperus thurifera L. is an endemic conifer of the western Mediterranean Basin where it is subjected to a severe climatic stress characterized by low winter temperatures and summer drought. Given the trend of increased warming-induced drought stress in this area and the climatic sensitivity of this species, we expect a negative impact of climate change on growth and ecophysiological performanc...

Summer heat stress (HS) negatively affects reproductive functions, including prostaglandin (PG) F2α secretion in the endometrium, and decreases fertility in cattle. In the present study, we examined the effects of elevated temperatures on PG synthesis in oviductal epithelial cells. The epithelial cells obtained from the ampulla and isthmus of the oviduct were incubated at various temperatures (...

Assessing the ecological importance of clouds has substantial implications for our basic understanding of ecosystems and for predicting how they will respond to a changing climate. This study was conducted in a coastal Bishop pine forest ecosystem that experiences regular cycles of stratus cloud cover and inundation in summer. Our objective was to understand how these clouds impact ecosystem me...

Heat stress and exhaustion is one of the top causes of chicken death. For those new to backyard chicken farming, it is important you learn to recognize the signs of this serious condition and how to keep your chickens cool and hydrated. Chicks, especially, need extra attention to help them remain healthy. For a flock of laying hens, knowing how to prevent heat exhaustion and treat a chicken suf...