PhD Studentship – Investigating causes of lamb loss on Highland farms and crofts

We are seeking a highly motivated individual to carry out PhD research in the field of livestock health, wildlife ecology and veterinary science.

Blackloss is the term used for the unexplained losses of lambs on extensive grazings in the Highlands of Scotland, usually noted by hill sheep farmers as occurring between marking the lambs after lambing and gathering them back in from the hills for autumn sales each year. Predation by wild birds and mammals, high parasite burdens and disease are often given by farmers as presumed reasons for the losses. Abortions, poor ewe nutrition resulting in malnutrition of lambs and lambs dying of hypothermia, trace element deficiencies, phytotoxicities, or infectious diseases could also be significant contributory factors.

The white-tailed eagle is a native species to Scotland which has been reintroduced after becoming extinct through persecution at the start of the 20th Century. There have been a small number of studies seeking to quantify the impacts of white-tailed eagle on sheep farming. The studies concluded that most lambs found in eagle nests were taken as carrion. However, more recent work has confirmed that in some cases white-tailed eagles are bringing freshly dead lamb carcasses to the nest. Post mortem examinations have identified that the majority of these freshly dead lambs have had a range of diseases, deficiencies or parasite loads which would have severely compromised the health of the animal. These conditions would have left livestock vulnerable to predation and in many cases would have been the predisposing cause of death.

This PhD will seek to a) define more accurately what is meant by the term blackloss, b) identify the underlying factors leading to blackloss, and c) quantify the part that white-tailed sea eagles play in the losses. To achieve this the candidate will study farms and crofts within and outwith the white-tailed eagle foraging range and seek to:

• Characterise individual farms and crofts on the basis of habitat occurrence and condition, flock management practices, degree of parasite burden, disease prevalence and predator pressure;
• Assess productivity, wastage and resource efficiency of each flock; Assess the condition of individual ewes and lambs within the flocks together with a range of indices of animal health;
• Compare and contrast the characteristics of lambs being lost with the characteristics of the wider cohort of lambs on those farms and crofts;
• Model (using multivariate analyses and general linear models with environmental covariates) the variation in production across these farms and crofts and compare and contrast the key factors driving that variation at farm and croft level.

The successful candidate will be registered jointly at the University of Edinburgh University (within the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies) and SRUC, supervised by Prof Davy McCracken, Prof Neil Sargison, Dr Ann McLaren and Dr Franz Brulisauer and will also benefit from extensive collaboration with Scottish Natural Heritage.

The entry qualification for this PhD studentship is a first class or upper second class honours degree and/or a relevant postgraduate degree, in agricultural, animal or environmental science. Whilst experience in parasitology or veterinary post-mortem techniques would be useful, it is certainly not essential as the student will receive training.

The stipend will be set at UKRI recommended levels for a 3.5 year-period and the studentship is funded to pay domestic tuition fee levels for UK/EU students. The student will receive an annual student stipend (of £14,777 at 2018/19 rate). This studentship will fund to pay the tuition fees at home fees rate only. International students must provide evidence of sufficient funds to cover the higher international student tuition fee level (approximately £16,740 per year would be required).

The expected start date is 1st September 2019. The PhD will be based in Edinburgh but will involve extensive travel in the west Highlands of Scotland. A full current driving licence is therefore essential.

SRUC, Scotland’s Rural College, delivers comprehensive skills, education and business support for Scotland’s land-based industry founded on world class, sector leading research, education and consultancy. SRUC’s joint submission with the University of

Edinburgh to the Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science subpanel of the Research Excellence Framework (REF2014) ranks top in the UK on research power.

To apply for this studentship, please complete the application and equal opportunities monitoring forms available by clicking on the links below.

Completed forms and any questions should be sent to SRUC’s Postgraduate Administrator pg.research@sruc.ac.uk quoting reference SRUC/2019-23/McCracken.

CVs will not be accepted without a completed application form. If English is not an applicant’s first language, an approved English language certificate may be required – see further particulars for more details.

To have an informal discussion about this studentship, contact Davy McCracken davy.mccracken@sruc.ac.uk.

The closing date for applications is 5pm on 3rd March 2019.