Seminar Series 1: Lecture 2 - Prof Alistair Lawrence
What can we learn from the behaviour of farmyard animals about human behaviour and health?
This was the topic for a small seminar led by Professor Alistair Lawrence of the Scottish Agricultural College.
Key ideas:
Animal modelling can be used to study the likely effects of changing environments on behaviour. Control and predictability are important factors that influence health outcomes. Obesity can be thought of as the result of the interaction between evolved controls and an artificial environment. Social behaviour has a genetic component. Stress causes cells to age faster and pre-natal stress may give rise to a general susceptibility to higher stress reactivity in offspring.
About the speaker
Alistair Lawrence is the Professor of Animal Behaviour and Welfare at the Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh and at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
My PhD was on sheep social behaviour under the supervision of Professor David Wood-Gush (an early founder of animal welfare science). After completing my PhD I built a team of researchers focusing on the application of animal behaviour to interpret and improve animal welfare in a range of farm species. My past research interests have included the aetiology of stereotypic behaviour, the measurement of stress and negative affective states, the role of early experience in neonatal development and welfare, and the genetics of behavioural traits including maternal and neonate behaviour and aggression
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