My specialization is Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare of Farm Animals. My research and teaching focus on how various housing and management practices affect the behavioural biology and welfare of farm animals.
My research is designed to better understand the relative risks that environmental stressors may pose to the biota of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems with the goal of improving scientific and public understanding of those risks.
I and my lab study animal welfare. We're interested in how to create good living conditions for animals kept in labs, zoos and farms; in how scientists can assess well-being objectively; and in what happens to brain and behaviour when animals are raised and kept lifelong in confining, barren enclosures.
I have an interest in conservation induced livelihood change, forest governance, conservation partnerships and Indigenous-led conservation governance. My work seeks to improve the social and ecological outcomes of conservation governance.
My current research explores the role of rural governance, place-based development, philanthropy, rural policy, community economic development, and rural immigration and mobility.