Guinea fowl are a fundamental mainstay of nutrition in many African countries, particularly Ghana. Importantly many fowl are reared under extensive systems, mostly by low-income farmers, including women and children. Families produce both eggs and meat within these systems and products are used for both feeding the farm family and are sold to pay for items such as school fees, farm materials and food in the lean season.
However, there is a major issue: juvenile (keet) survival is low, with estimates across Ghana of between 60-100% mortality within the first eight weeks of life. Work in other poultry species suggests that the environmental conditions experienced during both pre- and early post-natal development have a powerful influence on an individual’s ability to cope with challenging environments. These differences in resilience can lead to altered health, fecundity and survival in later life. To date there has been no systematic exploration of how developmental conditions impact guinea fowl. This project aims to address this gap in our knowledge. The importance of guinea fowl to the nutrition of farmers and their families cannot be understated. The proposed project therefore represents an opportunity to carry out novel research, to have a significant impact on the welfare of animals and the sustainability of a fragile but essential way of farming.
We seek to recruit a student with interests in animal welfare, physiology and production sustainability to work with us on this project that brings together expertise in guinea fowl breeding (Abdul-Rahman), avian physiology, behaviour and development (Spencer) and livestock genomics (Djikeng) and poultry genetics and breeding (Watson). The overall aims of the project are 1) to establish which factors are most important in mediating guinea fowl development, resilience and survival, 2) to determine candidate physiological pathways that may be responsible for increased resilience and 3) to trial potential cost-effective interventions in the ‘field’ to increase productivity and potentially enhance fowl health/welfare. The successful student will have the opportunity to work in the UK and Ghana, eventually piloting low-cost interventions on Ghanaian farm systems. They will also gain experience and training in fowl husbandry, welfare and measurement of a range of physiological traits (e.g. circulating hormones, immunocompetence and oxidative stress measures) and behavioural assays (e.g. foraging ability, competitive ability and exploratory behaviour). In addition, transcriptomics (RNASeq) can be used to determine the mechanisms that underlie differences in resilience, tracking changes to a wide range of physiological pathways. The proposed project therefore represents an opportunity to carry out novel, multidisciplinary research, and to have a significant impact on the health and welfare of animals and the well-being of farmers in N. Ghana.
HOW TO APPLY
Application instructions can be found on the EASTBIO website- http://www.eastscotbiodtp.ac.uk/how-apply-0
1) Download and complete the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey.
2) Download and complete the EASTBIO Application Form.
3) Submit an application to St Andrews University through the Online Application Portal
Your online application must include the following documents:
- Completed EASTBIO application form
- 2 References (to be completed on the EASTBIO Reference Form, also found on the EASTBIO website)
- Academic Qualifications
- English Language Qualification (if applicable)
Unfortunately due to workload constraints, we cannot consider incomplete applications. Please make sure your application is complete by the 16th December 2021.
CONTACT
Queries on the project can be directed to the project supervisor.
Queries on the application process can be directed to Helen Sunderland ay [Email Address Removed]
Please refer to UKRI website and Annex B of the UKRI Training Grant Terms and Conditions