Adaptation, Health and Behaviour
Animal health and behaviour are becoming increasingly important when talking about sustainability of animal production systems. This specialisation utilises a multidisciplinary, animal-level approach focusing on the effects of the animal’s environment on its health.
The specialisation in a nutshell
The specialisation Adaptation, Health and Behaviour studies the effects of the immediate environment on physiological responses of individual animals, and what these responses mean for animal health and welfare. Immunological status, energy metabolism, thermoregulation, reproduction and behaviour are major responses of animals, being studied in this specialisation.
This specialisation has six thesis tracks:
- Adaptation Physiology (ADP)
- Animal Nutrition (ANU)
- Animal Production Systems (APS)
- Behavioural Ecology (BHE)
- Experimental Zoology (EZO)
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology (IDE)
Thesis and internship
A thesis or internship project for the specialisation Adaptation, Health and Behaviour is conducted at the ADP, ANU, APS, BHE, EZO or IDE chair group and results in a scientific report and a presentation. A thesis project usually links up with ongoing research at one of these research groups or is conducted in cooperation with commercial or (non-)governmental organisations. At the websites of the different chair groups, you can find more information about research topics.