Integrating Livestock in Fish Farming

System and Factors Affecting World Animal Agricultural Structure

• World animal agricultural structures are affected by various factors, including adaptation.
• Understanding these factors is crucial to understanding how animals are useful to humanity.
• Social and cultural norms influence food choices, animal treatment, and agricultural practices.
• Successful domesticated species have adapted to both natural and man-made environments.

Learning Objectives

• Students should be able to explain the adaptation process of animals.
• Students should be able to list five major types of environmental pressures that affect animals and describe how those pressures affect animals.
• Students should be able to describe the climatic environments of the world.
• Students should be able to explain the connection between climate and natural vegetation.
• Students should be able to explain how social and cultural differences affect agriculture.
• Students should be able to explain the links between economic and agricultural development.

Introduction

• To understand animal utility to humanity, we need to understand the factors affecting animal life and distribution.
• Social and cultural norms heavily influence what people value, consume, and tolerate.
• Domesticated animals must adapt to environments to be useful to humans.

Adaptation

• Adaptation is the sum of adjustments an organism makes to survive in a particular environment.
• The environment encompasses all conditions under which an organism lives.
• Domesticated/agricultural animals must adapt to both natural and imposed environments.
• This ability to adapt to these imposed symbiotic interactions is essential for domestication.

Adaptation

• Agricultural animals must adapt to the natural and artificial environments imposed by humans.
• This adaptability is crucial for domestication.

Adaptation

• The natural environment is important because agriculture is practiced within its constraints (climate, geography, altitude, feed. etc)
• The artificial environment is affected by economic levels and cultural factors within a society, as well as efforts to control the natural environment.

Distribution

• Stress affects the distribution and utilization of agricultural animals.
• Environmental stresses are classified as climatic, nutritional, internal, geographical, and social.

Type of Stress in Animal

• Climatic stress relates to the long-term pattern of meteorological factors affecting weather conditions such as temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, and wind.
• These factors impact animal comfort and performance.

Nutritional Stress

• Nutritional stress relates to the quantity and quality of available feedstuffs.
• It is often influenced by climatic factors such as temperature and rainfall..

Internal Stress

• Internal stress includes problems impacting an animal's health, like pathogens and toxins, from gaining entrance into the body.

Geographical Stress

• Geographical stress involves non-climate factors specific to a geographic location (e.g., altitude and terrain).
• Examples of animals affected by altitude include Chiru antelope, Yak, Tibetan wild ass. etc.

Social Stress

• Social stress results from interactions with other animals, including those of the same species.
• Social stresses are also strongly linked to human interactions.

Artificial Environments

• Humans create artificial environments for animals to best serve human needs.
• The specific nature of these environments depends on their purpose (e.g., food production, transportation, religious use).

Adaptive Changes

• Individual animal adaptation is divided into three categories.
• Morphological adaptation involves changes to an animal's form or structure.
• Physiological adaptation deals with changes to the body's biochemistry.
• Behavioral adaptations include learned or genetically induced responses to the environment

Morphological Adaptation

• Morphological adaptation is a structural change that enhances an organism's chances of survival in their habitat.
• Examples include desert animals like fennec foxes and camels, and flying animals such as bats.

Physical Adaptations

• Camouflage involves shape, color, or pattern, helping an organism blend into its environment.
• Protective color enhances blending into particular environments (e.g., snow animals).
• Protective resemblance involves an organism matching the shape, color, and texture of its environment.

Behavioral Adaptation

• Behavioral adaptations are actions that help animals survive in their specific ecosystems.
• Examples include pack behavior for hunting and protection found in certain species like wolves.

Climatic Environments of the World

• Tropical climates are located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
• The main climatic variation in the tropics is rainfall patterns.
• Tropical climates consist of humid and subhumid areas, based on how long the rainy season lasts.
• Dense rainforests of the humid tropics limit agriculture.
• Extreme heat poses issues for animal agriculture in all tropical areas.
• Diseases and parasites add hurdles to introducing/domesticating new animals.

Climatic Environments of the World - Deserts

• Limited rainfall and heat hinder livestock production in semi-arid areas.
• Parasites and insects are also a problem, though less prevalent than in humid areas.
• High winds erode dry, overgrazed land, causing desertification.

Climatic Environments of the World - Cold/Temperate Climates

• Cold climates are limited by cold stress and food availability.
• Temperate climates are highly productive agricultural regions.
• Most developed countries include at least some temperate climate areas.

Social and Cultural Differences - Religion

• Religion influences livestock numbers, contact with specific animals, and consumption choices.
• Religious food laws often reflect commonsense approaches to maintaining food quality (e.g., halal, kosher).

Social and Cultural Differences - Levels of Agricultural Development

• Agricultural development is categorized into developed, subsistence, and primitive systems.
• Developed systems have a small portion of the population dedicated to farming, highly specialized units, and mechanized production.
• Subsistence systems have a larger portion of the population engaged in farming, and focus on farm families meeting their own needs with a small surplus.
• Primitive agriculture requires most of the population to produce their own food, with little excess.

Social and Cultural Differences - Levels of Agricultural Development

• Developed agriculture characteristics include a small farming population, specialization, and high mechanization.
• A high per capita income and literacy rate often correlate with developed agriculture.

Social and Cultural Differences - Levels of Agricultural Development (Subsistence)

• Approximately half the population participates in subsistence agriculture.
• Farm families mainly consume their own production, with a small surplus.
• Subsistence farming typically uses minimal mechanization and relies on hand and animal labor.
• Per capita income and literacy rates are usually lower in subsistence areas.

Social and Cultural Differences - Levels of Agricultural Development (Primitive)

• Primitive agricultural systems rely on almost the entire population for food production.
• Surplus food production is rare or non-existent, leading to food scarcity and low nutrition levels.
• Minimal mechanization and animal power are features of primitive systems.
• Extremely low per capita income and literacy rates frequently correlate with primitive agriculture.

System Classification (Table 4.1)

• The table categorizes agricultural styles in areas with primitive, subsistence, and developed agriculture, noting their goals and systems.

Commercial Farming

• Commercial farming involves farmers producing agricultural products to sell in the marketplace.
• Commercial farming types, such as mixed crop and livestock, ranching, dairy, and large-scale grain production, are typically found in developed countries.

Commercial Farming - Mixed Crop and Livestock

• Mixed crop and livestock farming typically involves growing crops to feed the farmed animals, and using manure as fertilizer.
• Crops and animal products provide most of the income in these farms.
• These farms often practice crop rotation.

Commercial Plantation

• Plantation agriculture focuses on large-scale land holdings and labor to grow specific crops for the market.
• Important plantation crops include fruits, coffee, tea, spices, sugar, fiber, cacao, rubber, and vegetable oils.
• Plantation systems are often owned by governments or corporations.

Urban Agriculture

• As urbanization grows, urban agriculture is developing.
• Urban agriculture is practiced on backyards, along roadsides, on rooftops, in public areas, and using hydroponics.

Livestock Integrated Fish Farming

• Techniques like integrated fish farming utilize animal waste (e.g., from ducks, pigs, cattle) to increase plankton in ponds, benefiting fish.
• Fish and milk/dung are products of this integration.

Poultry-Fish Integrated Farming

• Poultry waste is rich in phosphorus and nitrogen, benefiting fish farming.

Duck-Fish Integrated Farming

• Ducks consume juvenile aquatic pests, providing a safe environment for fish, and their droppings provide nutrients.

Summary and Conclusion

• Agricultural animals must adapt to various pressures for human use.
• Cultural, economic, and religious factors influence animals and plants.
• Economic development and institutions shape agricultural systems.
• Understanding global systems provides better perspectives on our own practices.

This quiz explores the benefits and practices of incorporating livestock, such as cattle and ducks, into fish farming. Participants will learn about nutrient contributions from livestock, production potential, and the impact on agricultural development. Test your knowledge on this sustainable farming approach!