Stress and welfare: Two complementary concepts that are intrinsically related to the animal's point of view Flashcards
Veissier and Boissy, 2007
Some questions brought up in the paper, the focus of the paper.
Why is it that physiological responses, such as an increase in cortisol or heart rate (Mormede et al. and von Borrel et al. in this issue), and behavioural responses, such as flight or body language (Forkman et al. and Boissy et al. in this issue) that are not directly triggered by these increases, nevertheless occur at the same time? Are mechanisms of adaptation the common element determining their occurrence? This short paper will try to address this question.
How was stress defined in the beginning of the XX century?
Stress is defined as a nonspecific response to external challenges (pathogens, heat, cold), as introduced by Selye.
What is general adaptation syndrome?
General adaptation syndrome describes the body’s response to stressors, including alarm, resistance, and exhaustion stages.
What is allostasis?
Allostasis refers to stability through change, where physiological adaptations help animals cope with challenges.
What is welfare linked to?
Welfare is linked to an animal’s ability to adapt to its environment with minimal effort, emphasizing coping mechanisms.
Is there really a continuum between stress and welfare or poor and good welfare?
Evidence suggests that stress responses do not consistently correlate with welfare levels.
Example: it is difficult to describe behavioural responses on a continuum. When facing a predator, animals may respond actively by fleeing or attacking the predator. One might thus propose to assess the degree of the response on an activity scale, with high activity (flight or attack being both associated to high energy expenditure) reflecting a high level of responding, and thus a high level of stress. However, some animals may on the contrary respond to predators by freezing.
More evidence of there not being a continuum.
Chronic stress can lead to either increased or decreased cortisol responses, indicating variability in stress reactions.
Behavioral responses to stress can differ significantly among species and contexts, challenging the idea of a welfare continuum.
Where emotions play a role?
Stress responses are influenced by the animal’s perception of aversive situations, not just the situations themselves.
Emotional arousal, particularly from the amygdala, plays a crucial role in stress responses.
Welfare is increasingly defined by emotional states, with negative emotions linked to poor welfare outcomes.
Main points about ‘emotions or emotions?’
Stress responses include both physiological and behavioral components, which interact to shape the overall response.
Different coping strategies (active vs. passive) depend on genetic background and prior experiences.
The complexity of emotional responses suggests that they cannot be simplified to a single continuum.
