The Mediterranean area shows a great diversity of livestock systems, depending on local resources and traditions, but also on the networking space where informational resources are available for producers. During the last decades, a lot of innovations have been conceived or introduced in the Mediterranean area, allowing livestock systems to remain competitive.The book looks at two main issues: firstly, it gives an updated review on the main innovations that significantly changed the activities of livestock production in the Mediterranean area in the recent past. Secondly, the focus lies on the extent to which these innovations improve the efficiency, ensure the socio-cultural basis or reduce the environmental impact of livestock systems.One major finding is a new vision of innovating systems based on the distinction between regulated innovation (when aims are fixed) and innovative design (when aims are questioned).Innovations reported in the book are dealing with a set of concerns. They concern the production techniques, the work organization, the equipment and infrastructures, the collective features for selection, reproduction, feeding or sanitary devices. They also concern the local organization such as product labelling, new dynamics around local breeds, collective rules for supply basin or approaches of new products for new markets. More recently, some innovations focus on environmental impacts of livestock production, due to an increasing consciousness of those kinds of problems.In the final part of the book, a round table copes with a crucial question: are traditions in Mediterranean livestock activities to be considered an obstacle or a source of innovation? This book provides a set of updated information and knowledge useful for researchers, students, extension services and policy-makers in the field of animal science.

Preface.- Part 1. Introduction on innovation.- Agricultural systems and the innovation process.- Broad-view research in the Mediterranean system.- Innovations arising from applied research on a new on-line milk analyzer and a behavior meter.- Part 2. Innovations improving the efficiency of livestock systems in the Mediterranean area.- A. Genetics, breeding, reproduction.- Conception of new bioeconomic indexes to evaluate caprine genotypes productivity.- Genetic variability and phylogenetic relationships of ovine Algerian breeds using microsatellites.- In vitro conservation and preliminary molecular identification of some Turkish domestic animal genetic resources.- Red deer (Cervus elaphus) farming in Greece: predicting the rate of inbreeding and estimating the effective population size.- The use of crossbreeding programs for increasing domestic beef production.- Proposal of some alternatives to simplify a MOET programme.- Adaptation and reproductive performances of exotic saanen breed introduced in Lebanon.- Managing the breeding and calving seasons in the suckler cow herd.- Improvement of the reproductive efficiency for the development of the Sardinian sheep breeding.- B. Feeding systems, nutrition, health.- Use of stochastic models to stimulate long-term dynamics of mountain cattle herds under low-labour availability scenarios.- Innovations in small ruminants feeding systems in arid Mediterranean areas.- Fattening Cinta Senese pigs with chestnuts: effect on meat and fat characteristics.- Importance of Mediterranean forest products as food resource of domestic herbivores: the case of oak acorn.- Finishing Cinta Senese pigs at pasture: fatty acids composition of cured lard.- Effects of winter shearing on reproductive and lactation performances of the Latxa dairy ewe.- Effect of concentrate quantity and administration pattern on milk parameters and grazing time in a rationed dairy sheep grazing system.- Relation between the distribution of time spent on pasture and protein content of the concentrate on milk yield and grazing behaviour.- Comparison of animal performance of domestic herbivores grazing on partially improved heath lands.- Performance of domestic herbivores in marginal heathlands.- Effect of grass nitrogen protection by Acacia cyanophylla on nitrogen balance and sheep milk production.- Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) pulp as an energy source in diet for growing rabbits.- Nutritional status of the endangered Pantelleria donkey breed.- Study of some haematic parameters as indicators of the metabolic nutritional status in Nero Siciliano growing pigs.- Net transfer of nutrients to duodenum, and disappearance of n-alkanes in the reticulo-rumen and the hindgut of sheep fed grass/legume combinations.- Extruded linseed in the diet of dairy ewes: effects on fatty acid composition of milk and cheese.- C. Animal products, system traceability.- SIEOL, information system for genetic, technical and economic support for French diary sheep breeders.- Outlook for producing Timahdite lamb with improved dietetic quality reared on rangelands in the Central Middle Atlas (Morocco).- Effect of different production systems on lamb sensory quality.- Carcass and meat quality of Majorcan black pig slaughtered at different live weight.- Influence of feeding system on carcass and meat quality: fat colour as a tool of classification.- The use of subcutaneous fat colour to trace grass-feeding in Parda de Montaña yearling bulls.- Wool in Mediterranean regions: a forgotten and neglected product of sheep or a natural and renewable resource for the future?.- D. Animal recording data identification.- Innovations have improved the efficience of ruminant production systems in Cyprus.- New morphological and weight measurements by visual image analysis in sheep and goats.- An information systems for the assessment of the threats to the heritage sheep breeds.- Permanence of electronic ear tags in extensive rearing of Majorcan black pig.- Part 3. Innovationsimproving the socio-cultural basis or increasing ethical issues in livestock systems from the Mediterranean area. Meditteranean pastorality: sustainable know-how in search of development.- The adaptation of technical and organizational innovations and their impacts on dairy sheep breeding in Tunisia.- Tradition and innovation in the Mediterranean pastoralism: recognition of its multiple roles for the sustainable development of rural areas.- PDO project for Corsican pork as an innovation for the whole marketing chain.- Innovation systems and processes in the field of agricultural direct marketing: a cross-national analysis between France, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland.- The role of Mediterranean networks of cooperative research in animal production in favor of innovation: situation and outlooks for the future.- Part 4. Innovations dedicated to enhance environmental positive impacts of livestock activities from Mediterranean natural and human resources.- Innovative strategies of organic beef produces in Italy.- Use of homeopathy in parasite control in a flock of Zerasca sheep.- Innovating on welfare: an added value?.- The use of grazing pastures in goat production: development of an approach to combine optimized use of the forage resource and the control of related risks.- Silvopastoral innovation in North Mediterranean livestock farming systems: current knowledge and prospects for technical support.- The role of secondary compounds in foraging on Mediterranean rangelands.- Round table.- Traditions in Mediterranean livestock activities: obstacle or source of innovations?.- Conclusion.- An overall view on recent innovations in Mediterranean Livestock Farming Systems.- Keyword index.- Author index.