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Farm animals are constantly facing perturbations due to changing environmental and farm conditions, which influence their performance and health. Characterization of animal response when faced with these perturbations is of main concern to ensure a sustainable production. Indeed, a better understanding of the adaptation mechanisms used by the animal to cope with these perturbations (through resistance and resilience) is a prerequisite to propose adequate farm management strategies and for the development of precision livestock farming systems. Several experimental studies were conducted to investigate the influence of environment on the performance of farm animals. To get the most out of experimental data, the use of mathematical models is necessary to consider the systemic aspect of animal response. Accordingly, in this course, we will discuss different modelling tools to quantify and characterize the animal’s adaptive response and the robustness trait.