Lucy Asher

Contact

• workRoom B34 Veterinary Medicine and Science
  Sutton Bonington Campus
  Sutton Bonington
  Leicestershire
  LE12 5RD
  UK
• work0115 951 6281
• lucy.asher@nottingham.ac.uk

Biography

Lucy joined the Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science in April 2010 as a Lecturer in Epidemiology and Animal Behaviour. Her main responsibility is to lead a five year research project on the epidemiology of guide dog behaviour.

Prior to joining the team at Nottingham, Lucy worked as a Research Associate in Quantitative Epidemiology and Animal Behaviour at the Royal Veterinary College. She undertook a PhD supervised by Dr Melissa Bateson at Newcastle University's Centre for Behaviour and Evolution (CBE Website). She holds an MSc in Animal Behaviour and Welfare from Edinburgh and a joint-honours BSc in Psychology and Zoology from Bristol University.

Research Summary

Fundamentally I am interested in taking a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of animal behaviour and welfare. Practically this primarily involves the application of mathematical methods such as… read more

Selected Publications

• ASHER, LUCY, COLLINS, LISA M, ORTIZ-PELAEZ, ANGEL, DREWE, JULIAN A, NICOL, CHRISTINE J and PFEIFFER, DIRK U, 2009. Recent advances in the analysis of behavioural organization and interpretation as indicators of animal welfare. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 6(41), 1103-19
• ASHER, LUCY, DIESEL, GILLIAN, SUMMERS, JENNIFER F, MCGREEVY, PAUL D and COLLINS, LISA M, 2009. Inherited defects in pedigree dogs. Part 1: disorders related to breed standards. Veterinary Journal. 182(3), 402-11
• ASHER L, BUCKLAND EL, PHYLACTOPOULOS CI, WHITING MC, ABEYESINGHE SM and WATHES CM, 2011. Estimation Of The Number And Demographics Of Companion Dogs In The Uk. Bmc Veterinary Research. 7(1), 74 (In Press.)
• COLLINS LM, ASHER L, SUMMERS J and MCGREEVY P, 2011. Getting Priorities Straight: Risk Assessment And Decision-Making In The Improvement Of Inherited Disorders In Pedigree Dogs. Veterinary Journal (London, England : 1997). 189(2), 147-54

• View all publications

Current Research

Fundamentally I am interested in taking a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of animal behaviour and welfare. Practically this primarily involves the application of mathematical methods such as epidemiological and statistical modelling, analysis of temporal structure and patterns in behaviour and agent-based modelling. I am also interested in the application of approaches borrowed from Psychology, Engineering, Physics and Economics.

Currently my primary research project concerns the epidemiology of guide dog behaviour. This 5-year initiative aims to understand the factors contributing to guide dog success and quality and to produce a reliable and valid behavioural profiling system.

I am also involved with a variety of other welfare and behaviour research projects concerning:

• analysis of stereotypic behaviour in mice, dogs and caged birds
• group behaviour in laying hens
• kennelled dog welfare
• the welfare of dogs in the UK (including assessing methods to estimate the UK dog population)
• understanding inherited defects in dogs

PhD students:

Naomi Harvey (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/vet/research/student-profiles/harvey-naomi.aspx)

Simon Blythe (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/vet/research/student-profiles/blythe-simon.aspx)

Past Research

Previously I have been involved with a diverse range of research in the areas of animal behaviour and welfare. Past research includes:

• Investigating choice behaviour in birds
• Measuring the welfare of caged birds, speficallly captive European starlings (including behaviour, physiology and affective state)
• Examining the function of water bathing in starlings

• MORGAN KV, HURLY TA, BATESON M, ASHER L and HEALY SD, 2012. Context-Dependent Decisions Among Options Varying In A Single Dimension. Behavioural Processes. 89, 115– 120
• 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(1), 65-75
• GRIERSON, J, ASHER, L and GRAINGER, K, 2011. An investigation into risk factors for bilateral canine cruciate ligament rupture. Veterinary and comparative orthopaedics and traumatology : V.C.O.T. 24(3), 192-6
• ASHER L, BUCKLAND EL, PHYLACTOPOULOS CI, WHITING MC, ABEYESINGHE SM and WATHES CM, 2011. Estimation Of The Number And Demographics Of Companion Dogs In The Uk. Bmc Veterinary Research. 7(1), 74 (In Press.)
• COLLINS LM, ASHER L, SUMMERS J and MCGREEVY P, 2011. Getting Priorities Straight: Risk Assessment And Decision-Making In The Improvement Of Inherited Disorders In Pedigree Dogs. Veterinary Journal (London, England : 1997). 189(2), 147-54
• MELISSA BATESON and LUCY ASHER, 2010. Wild Birds in Captivity. In: ROBERT HUBRECHT AND JAMES KIRKWOOD, ed., The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
• COLLINS L.M., ASHER L., PFEIFFER D.U., BROWNE W.J. and NICOL C.J., 2010. Clustering and synchrony in laying hens: The effect of environmental resources on social dynamics Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 129(1), 45-53
• SUMMERS, JENNIFER F, DIESEL, GILLIAN, ASHER, LUCY, MCGREEVY, PAUL D and COLLINS, LISA M, 2010. Inherited defects in pedigree dogs. Part 2: Disorders that are not related to breed standards. Veterinary Journal. 183(1), 39-45
• COLLINS, L.M., ASHER, L., SUMMERS, J.F., DIESEL, G. and MCGREEVY, P.D., 2010. Welfare epidemiology as a tool to assess the welfare impact of inherited defects on the pedigree dog population Animal Welfare. VOL 19(SUPP), 67-76
• BRILOT, BEN O, ASHER, LUCY and BATESON, MELISSA, 2010. Stereotyping starlings are more 'pessimistic' Animal Cognition.
• ASHER, LUCY, COLLINS, LISA M, ORTIZ-PELAEZ, ANGEL, DREWE, JULIAN A, NICOL, CHRISTINE J and PFEIFFER, DIRK U, 2009. Recent advances in the analysis of behavioural organization and interpretation as indicators of animal welfare. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 6(41), 1103-19
• BRILOT, BEN O, ASHER, LUCY, FEENDERS, GESA and BATESON, MELISSA, 2009. Quantification of abnormal repetitive behaviour in captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). Behavioural Processes. 82(3), 256-64
• BRILOT, B. O., ASHER, L. and BATESON, M., 2009. Water bathing alters the speed-accuracy trade-off of escape flights in European starlings Animal Behaviour. VOL 78(NUMBER 4), 801-807
• ASHER, L., KIRKDEN, R. D. and BATESON, M., 2009. An empirical investigation of two assumptions of motivation testing in captive starlings (Sturnus vulgaris): Do animals have an energy budget to 'spend'? and does cost reduce demand? Applied Animal Behaviour Science. VOL 118(NUMBER 3-4), 152-160
• ASHER, LUCY, DIESEL, GILLIAN, SUMMERS, JENNIFER F, MCGREEVY, PAUL D and COLLINS, LISA M, 2009. Inherited defects in pedigree dogs. Part 1: disorders related to breed standards. Veterinary Journal. 182(3), 402-11
• ASHER, L., DAVIES, G. T., BERTENSHAW, C. E., COX, M. A. and BATESON, M., 2009. The effects of cage volume and cage shape on the condition and behaviour of captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) Applied Animal Behaviour Science. VOL 116(NUMBER 2-4), 286-294
• ASHER, LUCY and BATESON, MELISSA, 2008. Use and husbandry of captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in scientific research: a review of current practice. Laboratory Animals. 42(2), 111-26
• MATHESON, S. M., ASHER, L. and BATESON, M., 2008. Larger, enriched cages are associated with 'optimistic' response biases in captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) Applied Animal Behaviour Science. VOL 109(NUMBER 2-4), 374-383