Success Stories - BSc (Hons) Animal Behaviour Science

Student Scientist Scoops National Scholarship

A budding conservationist at the University of Lincoln will be spending her summer holiday studying birds’ nests after winning a scholarship from the prestigious Nuffield Foundation. 

Second-year Animal Behaviour Science student Rosetta Blackman has been awarded a Nuffield Foundation Vacation Scholarship worth £1,430 to study the insulation properties of bird nests. 

The aim of the study is to gain a greater understanding of bird incubation and in particular why some birds sit on their nests constantly whilst others can leave the nest for extended periods of time. 

Rosetta is one of 330 students nationwide to have been awarded an undergraduate scholarship from the Nuffield Foundation set up to support young scientists by promoting access to science and encouraging scientific research careers. 

“My course lecturer Dr Paul Eady invited us to apply for the scholarship and as I’m really interested in avian incubation I decided to put my name forward,” said Rosetta. 

“I was ecstatic when I found out I’d been successful as it’s such an amazing opportunity. We hope to present our findings at the Incubation and Fertility Group which meets at the University of Lincoln later this year. 

“When I graduate I would like to work for a wildlife trust helping to conserve and manage habitats and I hope this experience will be useful in my future career.” 

Biological Sciences lecturer Dr Paul Eady said: “The scheme is designed to encourage undergraduates to pursue a research career and give them a taste of real research. 

“Rosetta is the third student in four years to be awarded a scholarship from the Nuffield Foundation which is proof of quality of the course and a testament to the high standard of students we are generating.”

Animal Expert is First In Europe

Animal behaviourist at the University of Lincoln Dr Emily Levine has become the first person in Europe to be awarded the status of Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Behaviourists.

Dr Levine who joined the university as a Researcher in Companion Animal Behaviour recently sat a two-day American Boards examination passing with flying colours.

Dr Levine studied Biology at the University of Georgia before gaining a place at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University.

After graduating she completed a one-year internship at a companion animal medical and surgical referral practice in Arizona. She stayed in Arizona for a further year before going on to do a residency in animal behaviour at Cornell University in New York.

Speaking of her achievement Dr Levine said: “I’m delighted to have passed the exam and it’s an honour to be one of just a handful of veterinarians to be awarded diplomat status in animal behaviour.

“I initially applied for the job at the University of Lincoln because I wanted to work with Professor Daniel Mills, who in addition to teaching runs a referral clinic for animals with behaviour problems at the university, as he is very well respected in his field.

“There is very supportive academic environment here at the university and there are plenty of learning and research opportunities.”

Dr Levine is currently doing a one-year follow up study which investigated using CD based firework sounds to treat dogs that were fearful of real firework exposures.

Her research interests include inter-cat aggression, parrot behaviour, attitudes of veterinary students towards farm animal welfare and firework phobia in dogs.

Richard Crafer BSc - Animal Behaviour Science

Richard Crafer was awarded a Nuffield Foundation Vacation Scholarship to study the incubation behaviour of birds. It has been known for many years that as egg size increases so does the length of time required to incubate them (an ostrich takes 42 days to incubate its eggs whilst a humming birds takes only 16 Days), and scientists have used this knowledge to predict how long a bird should sit on its eggs. However, researchers have long recognised that many birds don't fit the pattern. For example, a chicken should sit on its eggs for 28 Days, but in reality it only takes 21 Days. By searching through published records Richard was able to find data on the incubation times of 1400 species of bird (about 10% of all known species). From this data, Richard discovered that different groups of bird have quite different incubation periods, irrespective of egg size. For example, toucans and kestrels lay similar sized eggs, yet toucan eggs hatch in about half the time. Richard presented his findings at the Incubation & Fertility Research Group Conference held at Lincoln University and is now studying variation in incubation patterns in more detail as part of his honours dissertation. The porosity of egg shells may be a crucial factor.

(supervisor at UL: Dr. Paul Eady)