Gillian Hughes Position/Title: M.Sc. by thesis email: ghughe01@uoguelph.ca Phone: Office: LinkedIn

Background:

       I’m an MSc candidate in Dr. Harlander’s lab, with a focus on poultry behaviour and the gut-brain-microbiota axis. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Windsor’s Behaviour, Cognition, and Neuroscience program, and completed an undergraduate thesis with Dr. Zielinski on imprinted odour preference in chinook salmon. After my undergraduate, I spent a year working as a research assistant in Dr. Willet’s Incubator lab helping with the creation and maintenance of bio art projects. I came to the University of Guelph to continue pursuing an interest in animal behaviour, and to develop my analytical and communication skills.

       Outside of my studies, I enjoy illustration, D&D and board games!

MSc Research: 

       My research in the Harlander lab centers on the role of the microbiome, particularly strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, on the development and management of severe feather pecking in laying hens. Severe feather pecking (SFP) is a behaviour that can result in the loss of feather cover, and even lead to injury, and is a prevalent economic and welfare concern to modern farms, particularly aviary systems. Lactobacillus has a reduced presence in the gut of hens selected for a high risk of SFP¹, and the administration of Lactobacillus has been shown to reduce the effect of stress on increasing severe feather pecking behaviour².

       In my current project, I supplemented laying hens’ feed with a commercially available synbiotic that contains Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus salivarius, and Bifidobacterium animalis. This was in order to examine its effect on feather pecking rates, feather cover, and production metrics such as body weight and egg quality, particularly in response to stressors like social mixing. This will be followed by a meta-analysis on the impact of Bifidobacterium animalis on behaviour.

¹Birkl, P., Bharwani, A., Kjaer, J. B., Kunze, W., McBride, P., Forsythe, P., & Harlander-Matauschek, A. (2018). Differences in cecal microbiome of selected high and low feather-pecking laying hens. Poultry science, 97(9), 3009-3014.

²Mindus, C., van Staaveren, N., Bharwani, A., Fuchs, D., Gostner, J. M., Kjaer, J. B., ... & Harlander-Matauschek, A. (2021). Ingestion of Lactobacillus rhamnosus modulates chronic stress-induced feather pecking in chickens. Scientific reports, 11(1), 1-14.