Siobhan Abeyesinghe
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Siobhan is currently a Research Fellow with the Centre for Animal Welfare. She specialises in social behaviour, learning and cognition, behavioural approaches to assessing sensory capacities and animal welfare.
Biography
Siobhan graduated from University of Newcastle in 1994 with a degree in Animal Science. She then went on to complete an MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare at University of Edinburgh (1995) culminating in a research project at the Macaulay Institute on the welfare of red deer at lairage.
Following her PhD work on poultry behaviour and welfare with Professor Christine Nicol at University of Bristol and Professor Christopher Wathes, then of Silsoe Research Institute (2000) she joined Professor Wathes' research group as a postdoctoral researcher in poultry cognition and demonstrated that hens can show self-control.
In 2005 she joined the Royal Veterinary College to form the Centre for Animal Welfare with a small team of other scientists and in 2008 was appointed as an RCUK Fellow in Animal Behaviour and Welfare. She is also the UFAW Link Representative at the college.
Research
Siobhan's research interests centre on an understanding of the relationships between environment, behaviour, stress and animal welfare.
She is currently leading a BBSRC Animal Welfare Initiative project investigating the effects of the artificial physical environments in which pigs and poultry are routinely kept on their social behaviour, stress and cognition. This includes fundamental investigation of their social cognition and behaviour.
Siobhan is also involved in a number of other projects including the following:
Behavioural approaches to investigating avian vision in collaboration with Dr John Jarvis and Prof Christopher Wathes at RVC.
Vision and social discrimination in domestic fowl: from perception to cognition (PhD studentship- Nick Gover) in collaboration with Dr John Jarvis and Prof Christopher Wathes at RVC.
The welfare of dogs in Great Britain: Prioritsation of Welfare issues in collaboration with Prof Christopher Wathes at RVC and Drs Sandra Corr and Lucy Asher at University of Nottingham
Human attitudes to animals, education and animal welfare (PhD studentship- Jen Jamieson) in collaboration with Rev Prof Michael Reiss at Institute of Education, Prof Christopher Wathes and the RSPCA.
Canine positive affect: indicators owner assessments and effects of a chronic neuropathic condition (PhD Studentship Emma Buckland) in collaboration with Drs Holgar Volk and Charlotte Burn at RVC.
Quality of Life Assessment in Equids (PhD studentship- Liane Crowther) in collaboration with Dr Charlotte Burn and Prof Christopher Wathes at RVC.
Teaching
Siobhan currently teaches an introduction to Animal Behaviour to undergraduates studying veterinary medicine (BVetMed, Graduate & Transfer and Gateway courses) and veterinary nursing. She also lectures on the new third year BSc Bio-veterinary sciences module on animal behaviour and welfare. Siobhan is currently supervising four PhD students and supervises a number of undergraduate projects annually.
Clinical
Siobhan is beginning to work more closely with clinicians to further application of research and research findings to clinical practice.
Selected Publications
JAMIESON, J., REISS, M. J., ALLEN, D., ASHER L., PARKER, M. O., WATHES, C. M. & ABEYESINGHE, S. M. (In Press 2012). Adolescents care but dont feel responsible for farm animal welfare. Society and Animals.
JAMIESON, J., REISS, M. J., ALLEN, D., ASHER L., WATHES, C. M. & ABEYESINGHE, S. M. (2012). Measuring the success of a farm animal welfare education event. Animal Welfare 21: 65-75. paper
O'CONNOR, E. A., SAUNDERS, J. E., GRIST, H., McLEMAN, M. A., WATHES, C. M., & ABEYESINGHE, S. M. (2011). The relationship between the comb and social behaviour in laying hens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 135: 293-299. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2011.09.011
ASHER, L. BUCKLAND, E. L., PHYLACTOPOULOS, C. I., WHITING, M. C., ABEYESINGHE, S. M. & WATHES, C. M. (2011). Estimation and demographics of the UK owned dog population. BMC Veterinary Research 7: 74. dx.doi.org/10.1186/1746-6148-7-74
O'CONNOR, E. A., PARKER, M.O., DAVEY, E. L., GRIST, H., OWEN, R. C., SZLADOVITS, B., DEMMERS, T. G., WATHES, C. M., & ABEYESINGHE, S. M. The effect of low light and high noise on behavioural activity, physiological indicators of stress and production in laying hens. British Poultry Science 52: 666-674. dx.doi.org/10.1080/00071668.2011.639342
O'CONNOR, E. A., PARKER, M. O., McLEMAN, M. A., DEMMERS, T. G., LOWE, J. C., CUI, L., DAVEY, E. L., OWEN, R. C., WATHES, C. M., & ABEYESINGHE, S. M. (2010). The impact of chronic environmental stressors on growing pigs, Sus Scrofa (Part 1): stress physiology, production and play behaviour. Animal 4: 1899-1909. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1017/S1751731110001072
PARKER, M. O., O'CONNOR, E. A., McLEMAN, M. A., DEMMERS, T. G., LOWE, J. C., OWEN, R. C., DAVEY, E. L., WATHES, C. M. & ABEYESINGHE, S. M. (2010). The impact of chronic environmental stressors on growing pigs, Sus Scrofa (Part 2): social behaviour. Animal 4:1910-1921. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1017/S1751731110001084
GOVER, N., JARVIS, J. R., ABEYESINGHE, S. M. & WATHES, C. M. (2009) Stimulus luminance and the spatial acuity of domestic fowl (Gallus g. domesticus). Vision Research, 49(23): 2747-2753. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2009.08.011
ABEYESINGHE, S. M., McLEMAN, M. A., OWEN, R. C., McMAHON C. E. & WATHES, C. M. (2009). Investigating social discrimination of group members by laying hens. Behavioural Processes 81:1-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2008.11.017
JARVIS, J. R., ABEYESINGHE, S. M., McMAHON C. E. & WATHES, C. M. (2009). Measuring and modelling the spatial contrast sensitivity of the domestic fowl (Gallus g. domesticus). Vision Research. 49:1448-1454. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2009.02.019
MCKEEGAN, D. E., ABEYESINGHE, S. M., MCLEMAN, M. A., LOWE, J. C., DEMMERS, T. G., WHITE, R. P., KRANEN, R. W., VAN BEMMEL, H., LANKHAAR, J. A. & WATHES, C. M. (2007) Controlled atmosphere stunning of broiler chickens. II. Effects on behaviour, physiology and meat quality in a commercial processing plant. British Poultry Science 48: 430-442. PubMed ID 17701496 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00071660701543097
ABEYESINGHE, S. M., MCKEEGAN, D. E., MCLEMAN, M. A., LOWE, J. C., DEMMERS, T. G., WHITE, R. P., KRANEN, R. W., VAN BEMMEL, H., LANKHAAR, J. A. & WATHES, C. M. (2007) Controlled atmosphere stunning of broiler chickens. I. Effects on behaviour, physiology and meat quality in a pilot scale system at a processing plant. British Poultry Science 48: 406-423. PubMed ID 17701494. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00071660701543089
LOWE, J., ABEYESINGHE, S.M, DEMMERS, T.G.M., WATHES, C.M. & MCKEEGAN, D.E.F. (2007). A novel telemetric logging system for recording physiological signals in unrestrained animals. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 57: 74-79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2007.02.003
ABEYESINGHE, S. M., NICOL, C. J., HARTNELL S.J. & WATHES, C. M., (2005). Can domestic fowl, Gallus gallus domesticus, show self-control? Animal Behaviour 70: 1-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.10.011
MACCALUIM, J. M., ABEYESINGHE, S. M. & WATHES, C. M., (2003). A continuous choice assessment of the domestic fowl’s aversion to concurrent transport stressors. Animal Welfare 12: 95-107.paper
ABEYESINGHE, S. M., NICOL, C. J., WATHES, C. M. & RANDALL, J. M. (2001). Development of a raceway method to assess aversion of domestic fowl to concurrent stressors. Behavioural Processes 56: 175-194. PubMed ID 11738510. paper
ABEYESINGHE, S. M., WATHES, C. M., NICOL, C. J. & RANDALL, J. M. (2001). The aversion of broiler chickens to concurrent vibrational and thermal stressors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 73: 199-215. PubMed ID 11376838 paper
ABEYESINGHE, S. M. & GODDARD, P. J. (1998). The preferences and behaviour of farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) in the presence of other farmed species. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 56: 59-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(97)00079-8
ABEYESINGHE, S. M. , GODDARD, P. J. & COCKRAM, M. S. (1997). The behavioural and physiological responses of farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) penned adjacent to other species in simulated abattoir lairage. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 55: 163-175. paper
Outreach Activities
Siobhan is also involved in public engagement activities, particularly engaging school children in animal welfare. Her most recent activities have involved running an event on chicken biology and welfare and food labelling (Inside Chicken Run). This was first run as part of National Science Week 2009, sponsored by RCUK but has since been run at RVC several times very successfully, as well as by invitation at celebrity Jimmy Doherty's Science Festival during National Science week 2010. Siobhan and her student Jen Jamieson were runners up in the national BBSRC Social Innovator of the Year 2011 competition for this work. In addition Siobhan is currently involved in a primary school Royal Society Partnership Project to inspire and engage the future generation of scientists using animal behaviour. She was also recently involved in the BBC TV programme 'The Private Life of Chickens'.