Regional variation of the latent heat loss in the body surface of sheep in a semiarid region

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the latent heat loss in different regions of the body surface of sheep in the semiarid region of Brazil. We used four Morada Nova sheeps between 12 to 18 months old. The animals remained in the shadow of a sheepfold covered with ceramic tiles and ceiling height of 3 meters. We measured the air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, temperature of the globe, cutaneous evaporation, the surface temperature of the fur of animals and latent heat flux on the cutaneous surface of animals, to perform the calculations. The results of analysis of variance showed that the effect of body region was significant (P = 0.0256). The highest average in loss of latent heat of the cutaneous surface (Es) was measured in the neck (123.54 W m-2), which differed significantly (P