Phenotypic characterisation of feeding behaviour in dairy goats
Caractérisation phénotypique du comportement alimentaire chez la chèvre laitière
For more information, p
lease
contact one of the supervisors (
Christine DUVAUX
-
PONTER
christine.duvaux
-
ponter@agroparistech.fr
or
Birte
L
NIELSEN
birte.nielsen@inra.fr
) b
efore
the
2
1
st
of
April
2017
.
Summary of the proposal
Feedin
g behaviour of adult ruminants varies between individuals but appears to be a relatively
stable trait within each animal. However, little is known about the relative contributions of
genotype, early experience, and the social environment in which the feedi
ng behaviour is
measured. This PhD project will investigate feeding behaviour parameters in two breeds of
dairy goats from birth until weaning at two different ages, and relate this to the feeding
behaviour of the same animals post
-
weaning when housed eith
er individually or in groups. The
results of the project will reveal to what extent feeding behaviour characteristics of an animal is
adaptable to changes in external factors, including increased competition from conspecifics
and nutritional challenges, su
ch as a sudden decrease in the quality of the
feed
. These
characteristics will be compared to the production traits of the animal in later life, as well as
those of its parents and offspring.
T
he knowledge accrued in this project will contribute to on
-
goin
g phenotyping of ruminant livestock for use in management
-
and breeding decisions.
The successful candidate would start 1
st
of October 2017.
The experimental part of the project
will take place at the goat farm in Grignon
,
40km west of Paris,
and a
desk
-
s
pace will be made
available for the candidate at
AgroParisTech
(
5
th
arrondissement
,
P
aris
)
.
Candidate profile
The candidate for this project should have an MSc in
biology or animal science
. Candidates
with an interest in and basic knowledge of
animal beh
aviour science
and/or
analysis of
large biological data sets
are preferred. The candidate will acquire a range of skills during the
course of the project, including methods for the fundamental study of feeding behaviour,
temporal development within individ
uals, and correlations between disparate biological
functions as well as the application and verification of automatic data registration. Prior
experience in one or more of these areas would be an advantage, but is not a requirement.
English should be mast
ered at B2 level or higher, and proficiency in (or willingness to learn)
spoken French would be appreciated
.