Understanding cow reactivity and maternal behaviour and their associations with calf growth, survival and behaviour

几千年来，驯化物种的选择一直（现在仍然）受到它们对人类的反应的影响；因此，人与动物的相互作用强烈地影响了家养动物的选择。驯化意味着选择的副作用，包括行为改变（以遗传为基础），如减少恐惧，增加社交能力和减少反捕食者反应。因此，当选择特定的行为特征（例如，减少对人类的恐惧反应：反应性）时，其他重要特征也会受到影响，包括母性行为特征（例如，照顾小牛、结合和保护）。因此，了解各种驯化动物行为特征（人类处理反应性和母性行为）之间的关联以及它们与动物适应性（例如繁殖成功和后代生长和生存）的关系，以确定在驯化条件下更好的人工选择策略至关重要。我的研究计划的长期目标是阐明，在不同的时间和各种与人类有关的背景下，各种母亲的行为特征和奶牛对人类处理的恐惧反应（反应性）之间的关系，以及它们对奶牛繁殖成功、小牛健康和反应性的影响。总体假设是：1)母牛的母性行为和反应性与繁殖成功以及小牛的健康和反应性相关并影响其繁殖成功；2)牛对人类的恐惧反应可以通过学习过程来改变。我的研究项目将以肉牛为模型，在动物行为科学方面产生新的基础知识。此外，它将提供可直接用于改善畜牧业、选择性育种、动物福利和农业部门的人类安全的成果。研究的主要目的是更好地了解对家畜的选择有很大影响的一种重要行为特征（即对人类的恐惧反应）与对物种生存至关重要的行为特征（即母性结合和母性保护行为）及其对后代发育和反应的影响之间的关系。了解这些表型特征随时间和环境的稳定性，以及它们与小牛发育和健康的关系，将为加强家畜选择的策略提供信息。与高质量的培训相结合，拟议的研究将使HQP在学术界或农业工业的未来职业生涯中具有很强的竞争力。这项研究还可以通过影响与牛相关的实践（包括处理、选择和决定保留或淘汰），为生产系统中与人-动物相互作用相关的肉牛福利的改善提供信息。

Selection of domesticated species over thousands of years has been (and remains) influenced by their reactions to humans; consequently, human-animal interactions have strongly influenced domesticated animal selection. Domestication implies side-effects of selection, including behavioural changes (with a genetic basis), such as reduced fear, increased sociability and reduced anti-predator responses. Therefore, when selecting for a specific behavioural characteristic (e.g., reduced fear response to humans: reactivity), other important characteristics can be affected, including maternal behaviour traits (e.g., calf care, bonding and protection). Thus, it is crucial to understand the association of various domesticated animal behavioural traits (human handling reactivity and maternal behaviours) and how they are related to animal fitness (e.g., reproductive success and offspring growth and survival), to identify better artificial selection strategies under domesticated conditions. The long-term goal of my research program is to elucidate, across time and various human-related contexts, relationships between various maternal behaviour traits and cow fear responses to human handling (reactivity), and their impacts on cow reproductive success, calf fitness, and reactivity. The overall hypotheses are: 1) Cow maternal behaviour and reactivity are associated and affect reproductive success, as well as her calf's fitness and reactivity; and 2) Cow fear responses toward humans can be modified by learning processes. My research program will generate fundamental new knowledge on animal behaviour science, using beef cattle as a model. In addition, it will provide outcomes that can be directly used to improve animal husbandry, selective breeding, animal welfare, and and human safety in the agricultural sector. The principal aim is to better understand how an important behavioural characteristic, that has highly influenced selection of domestic animals (i.e., fear responses toward humans), is related to behavioural characteristics that are important to survival of the species (i.e., maternal bonding and maternal protective behaviour) as well their influences on offspring development and reactivity. Understanding stability across time and contexts of those phenotypic characteristics and how they are related to calf development and fitness will inform strategies to enhance domestic animal selection. In association with high-quality training, the proposed research will prepare HQP to be very competitive for future careers in academia or agri-industries. This research can also inform improvement of beef cow welfare in relation to human-animal interactions in production systems, by influencing practices related to the cow (including handling, selection, and decisions to retain or cull).