Michelle Reeves
Masters Programme Co-ordinator (Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare), Research Associate (Animal Welfare Centre)
Contact details
- Email: mreeves4@ed.ac.uk
Availability
Monday-Wednesday
Background
After my Bachelor's in wildlife biology in Canada, I moved to Edinburgh to complete a Master's degree in animal behaviour and welfare. I wrote my dissertation on the links between neonatal survival of Scottish Blackface lambs and their dam's maternal behaviour. I worked as a Senior Research Assistant at the University of Warwick, studying lameness-causing conditions in sheep and developing an app for farmers to record incidences of lameness. I then worked with Holstein Canada and the Hatching Egg Producers of Quebec in Canada, before returning to Edinburgh to complete my PhD from 2020 to 2024. My thesis explored useful welfare indicators in sheep that could be monitored by technology for a Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) approach to improving sheep welfare in extensive systems. I am now the Programme Coordinator for the MSc Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare and a Research Associate in the Animal Welfare Centre within the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.
Qualifications
BSc Environmental Biology, Wildlife Biology Specialisation, McGill University (2013)
MSc Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare, University of Edinburgh (2015)
PhD Animal Behaviour and Welfare: "Development and validation of animal-based welfare indicators for a Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) approach to small ruminant welfare management", University of Edinburgh/SRUC (2024)
Research summary
My research area is the behaviour and welfare of livestock. I specialise in welfare assessment of ruminants, with experience and interest in pigs and poultry. I am interested in refining, validating and developing welfare indicators through ethology, physiology and technology.