Review of the Heat Stress-Induced Responses in Dairy Cattle

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Next-generation numerical approaches, such as machine learning techniques and big data analytics, are also increasingly applied in the animal production sector. Still today, one of the most investigated matters in the dairy cow sector is the detection and the evaluation of the effects induced by heat stress condition. This review provides, in a single document, an overview, as complete as possible, of the heat stress-induced responses in dairy cattle aiming to transfer the wide veterinary knowledge available in the literature to researchers and technicians who are developing numerical models and decision support system tools. ABSTRACT: In the dairy cattle sector, the evaluation of the effects induced by heat stress is still one of the most impactful and investigated aspects as it is strongly connected to both sustainability of the production and animal welfare. On the other hand, more recently, the possibility of collecting a large dataset made available by the increasing technology diffusion is paving the way for the application of advanced numerical techniques based on machine learning or big data approaches. In this scenario, driven by rapid change, there could be the risk of dispersing the relevant information represented by the physiological animal component, which should maintain the central role in the development of numerical models and tools. In light of this, the present literature review aims to consolidate and synthesize existing research on the physiological consequences of heat stress in dairy cattle. The present review provides, in a single document, an overview, as complete as possible, of the heat stress-induced responses in dairy cattle with the intent of filling the existing research gap for extracting the veterinary knowledge present in the literature and make it available for future applications also in different research fields.