Hi I'm
Prof Simon Turner
- Position: Professor of Applied Ethology
- Location: Edinburgh Campus
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Expertise:
- Livestock and Fishing
My research interest lies in understanding the causes and consequences of individual differences in social behaviour, particularly the influence of selective breeding and early-life conditions on traits which affect animal welfare. I work closely with major breeding companies developing approaches to measure behaviour and welfare on large numbers of animals and assessing the likely success and wider implications of breeding for new traits. I also work on how better management of nutrition of beef cattle can improve cow and calf welfare and productivity. Although I`m a biologist, I work with colleagues to understand the economic and human barriers to adoption of management changes that can improve animal welfare and opportunities to overcome these.
Areas of expertise and interests
- Livestock and Fishing
I'm currently working on
- Understanding how skill and cognitive ability can help animals resolve aggressive contests quickly and efficiently.
- Assessing whether the response to different social situations is related and affected by the same genes.
- Determining how the body fat reserves of a pregnant cow affect the vigour of its calf immediately after birth.
- Exploring how to overcome farmers’ reluctance to better manage the nutrition of their animals or adopt new technology to monitor their animals’ welfare.
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