Effect of Temperature Acclimation on Porcine Physiological Responses to Heat Stress and Associated Properties of Muscle

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Abstract
Studies were conducted to determine physiological responses during heat-stress and postmortem muscle properties of pigs which had been acclimated to 29 or 18° C. and those subjected to fluctuating temperatures (29-18° C. alternating). Elevation of body temperature and respiratory rate during a 4-hr, period of heat-stress (37-40° C.) was pronounced in the pigs previously acclimated to 18° C. However, after recovery from the heat-stress and after subsequent exsanguination, these heat-stress-susceptible animals exhibited postmortem muscle properties that were similar to those of the other groups of pigs. Correlation analyses revealed that physiological responses during heat-stress were highly correlated with postmortem muscle properties in temperature-acclimated pigs and poorly correlated in those subjected to fluctuating temperatures. The data indicated that prediction of postmortem muscle properties of animals previously acclimated to a constant-temperature environment would be possible by measuring their body temperature and respiratory rate prior to and during a short period of heat-stress.