GPS monitoring reveals circadian rhythmicity in free-grazing sheep

GPS collars are a technology that is used extensively to monitor livestock due to its versatility. In this study, the main objective was to confirm whether they can detect the circadian rhythmicity that modulates the behavior of free-grazing sheep. The Churra-breed flock that was monitored grazed an...

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Autores: Plaza, J., Palacios, C., Abecia, J. A., Nieto, J., Sánchez-García, M., Sánchez, N.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Zaragoza
Repositorio:Zaguán. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Zaragoza
OAI Identifier:oai:zaguan.unizar.es:151034
Acceso en línea:http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/151034
Access Level:acceso abierto
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spelling GPS monitoring reveals circadian rhythmicity in free-grazing sheepPlaza, J.Palacios, C.Abecia, J. A.Nieto, J.Sánchez-García, M.Sánchez, N.GPS collars are a technology that is used extensively to monitor livestock due to its versatility. In this study, the main objective was to confirm whether they can detect the circadian rhythmicity that modulates the behavior of free-grazing sheep. The Churra-breed flock that was monitored grazed an approx. 166-ha fenced area within a dehesa ecosystem in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula. Geolocations were recorded every 30 min for two years. Animal activities were categorized based on the speed; an animal was “moving” if the speed was > 0 m/s (the analyzed category), and “resting” if the speed was 0 m/s. Sheep grazing activity in terms of their speed, azimuth, and distance traveled, was subjected to a circadian adjustment derived from the online Cosinor tool. Results reveal that the flock activity, whether based on speed, distance traveled, or azimuth, fit a circadian rhythmicity (p < 0.05). In the summer, particularly July and August, sheep exhibited a significant advance in the acrophase (the time at which the peak of a rhythm occurs), which might have been caused by day length and temperature. In all seasons, flock activity was significantly higher in the diurnal period, while the lowest activity was found in all cases at night, although in the summer sheep activity was high at dawn. In addition, in the day, sheep activity was significantly higher in the fall than it was at other times of the year. The preferred grazing direction of the sheep was non-random, since it was modulated by the contour orientation and the limits of the grazing area. It could be concluded that GPS geolocations allow to demonstrate that free-grazing sheep activity is modulated by a circadian rhythmicity.2022info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttp://zaguan.unizar.es/record/151034reponame:Zaguán. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Zaragozainstname:Universidad de ZaragozaInglésinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:zaguan.unizar.es:1510342026-05-29T13:59:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv GPS monitoring reveals circadian rhythmicity in free-grazing sheep
title GPS monitoring reveals circadian rhythmicity in free-grazing sheep
spellingShingle GPS monitoring reveals circadian rhythmicity in free-grazing sheep
Plaza, J.
title_short GPS monitoring reveals circadian rhythmicity in free-grazing sheep
title_full GPS monitoring reveals circadian rhythmicity in free-grazing sheep
title_fullStr GPS monitoring reveals circadian rhythmicity in free-grazing sheep
title_full_unstemmed GPS monitoring reveals circadian rhythmicity in free-grazing sheep
title_sort GPS monitoring reveals circadian rhythmicity in free-grazing sheep
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Plaza, J.
Palacios, C.
Abecia, J. A.
Nieto, J.
Sánchez-García, M.
Sánchez, N.
author Plaza, J.
author_facet Plaza, J.
Palacios, C.
Abecia, J. A.
Nieto, J.
Sánchez-García, M.
Sánchez, N.
author_role author
author2 Palacios, C.
Abecia, J. A.
Nieto, J.
Sánchez-García, M.
Sánchez, N.
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
description GPS collars are a technology that is used extensively to monitor livestock due to its versatility. In this study, the main objective was to confirm whether they can detect the circadian rhythmicity that modulates the behavior of free-grazing sheep. The Churra-breed flock that was monitored grazed an approx. 166-ha fenced area within a dehesa ecosystem in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula. Geolocations were recorded every 30 min for two years. Animal activities were categorized based on the speed; an animal was “moving” if the speed was > 0 m/s (the analyzed category), and “resting” if the speed was 0 m/s. Sheep grazing activity in terms of their speed, azimuth, and distance traveled, was subjected to a circadian adjustment derived from the online Cosinor tool. Results reveal that the flock activity, whether based on speed, distance traveled, or azimuth, fit a circadian rhythmicity (p < 0.05). In the summer, particularly July and August, sheep exhibited a significant advance in the acrophase (the time at which the peak of a rhythm occurs), which might have been caused by day length and temperature. In all seasons, flock activity was significantly higher in the diurnal period, while the lowest activity was found in all cases at night, although in the summer sheep activity was high at dawn. In addition, in the day, sheep activity was significantly higher in the fall than it was at other times of the year. The preferred grazing direction of the sheep was non-random, since it was modulated by the contour orientation and the limits of the grazing area. It could be concluded that GPS geolocations allow to demonstrate that free-grazing sheep activity is modulated by a circadian rhythmicity.
publishDate 2022
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2022
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
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dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/151034
url http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/151034
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
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eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
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dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Zaguán. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Zaragoza
instname:Universidad de Zaragoza
instname_str Universidad de Zaragoza
reponame_str Zaguán. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Zaragoza
collection Zaguán. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Zaragoza
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