Dr Davina Hill

  • Lecturer in Welfare Physiology (Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health & Comparative Medicine)

telephone: 0141 330 2379
email: Davina.Hill@glasgow.ac.uk

236c Jarrett Building, Garscube, Glasgow, G61 1QH

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9085-6192

Biography

2019-: Lecturer in Welfare Physiology, University of Glasgow.

2018-19: Senior Lecturer in Zoology and STEM lead for Learning, Teaching and Assessment, University of Cumbria.

2016-18: Lecturer in Zoology, University of Cumbria.

2012-16: Quantitative Animal Scientist, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC; research and consultancy).

2011: Visiting Fellow, University of Zürich, Switzerland.

2010-12: National Research Foundation Freestanding Research Fellow, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Research interests

I have broad research interests spanning applied (welfare, adaptation to climate change, food security, conservation) and pure (life history strategies, co-operation, hormonal control of behaviour) aspects of biology. 

My interests converge around the theme of how animals cope with the stresses associated with environmental change. My current work aims to help farming adapt to climate change by improving our understanding of animals’ responses to weather-related stressors. This has implications for welfare, productivity, feed efficiency and sustainability. 

I am also interested in how alternative life history strategies can help animals cope with environmental change, particularly in socially flexible species. Presently, I am investigating variation in behavioural plasticity in response to the thermal environment, and the extent to which this might help species deal with climate change.  

Current themes include

  • Effects of weather on productivity and behaviour in dairy cows
  • Alternative Reproductive Tactics in rodents
  • Climatic effects on life history strategies in small mammals
  • Sex differences in parental care
  • Resource allocation strategies in domesticated mammals

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2020 | 2017 | 2015 | 2014 | 2011 | 2008
Number of items: 9.

2020

Hill, D. L. , Pillay, N. and Schradin, C. (2020) Glucocorticoid levels predict subsequent social tactic in females of a facultatively social mammal. Functional Ecology, (doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.13744) (Early Online Publication)

2017

Hill, D. L. and Wall, E. (2017) Weather influences feed intake and feed efficiency in a temperate climate. Journal of Dairy Science, 100(3), pp. 2240-2257. (doi: 10.3168/jds.2016-11047) (PMID:28109597)

Griffith, S. C. et al. (2017) Variation in reproductive success across captive populations: methodological differences, potential biases and opportunities. Ethology, 123(1), pp. 1-29. (doi: 10.1111/eth.12576)

2015

Hill, D. L. , Pillay, N. and Schradin, C. (2015) Alternative reproductive tactics in female striped mice: heavier females are more likely to breed solitarily than communally. Journal of Animal Ecology, 84(6), pp. 1497-1508. (doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.12431) (PMID:26250697)

Hill, D. L. , Pillay, N. and Schradin, C. (2015) Alternative reproductive tactics in female striped mice: solitary breeders have lower corticosterone levels than communal breeders. Hormones and Behavior, 71, pp. 1-9. (doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.03.004) (PMID:25828632)

Hill, D.L. and Wall, E. (2015) Dairy cattle in a temperate climate: the effects of weather on milk yield and composition depend on management. Animal, 9(1), pp. 138-149. (doi: 10.1017/S1751731114002456) (PMID:25315451)

2014

Hill, D. L., Lindstrom, J. , McCafferty, D. J. and Nager, R. G. (2014) Female but not male zebra finches adjust heat output in response to increased incubation demand. Journal of Experimental Biology, 217(8), pp. 1326-1332. (doi: 10.1242/jeb.095323) (PMID:24363422)

2011

Hill, D.L. , Lindstrom, J. and Nager, R.G. (2011) Carry-over effects of male extra-pair copulation opportunity on biparental effort in zebra finches. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 65(11), pp. 2049-2059. (doi: 10.1007/s00265-011-1214-2)

2008

Hill, D. L. , Arañibar-Rojas, H. and MacLeod, R. (2008) Wattled Curassows in Bolivia: abundance, habitat use, and conservation status. Journal of Field Ornithology, 79(4), pp. 345-351.

This list was generated on Sat Apr 10 10:05:01 2021 BST.
Jump to: Articles
Number of items: 9.

Articles

Hill, D. L. , Pillay, N. and Schradin, C. (2020) Glucocorticoid levels predict subsequent social tactic in females of a facultatively social mammal. Functional Ecology, (doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.13744) (Early Online Publication)

Hill, D. L. and Wall, E. (2017) Weather influences feed intake and feed efficiency in a temperate climate. Journal of Dairy Science, 100(3), pp. 2240-2257. (doi: 10.3168/jds.2016-11047) (PMID:28109597)

Griffith, S. C. et al. (2017) Variation in reproductive success across captive populations: methodological differences, potential biases and opportunities. Ethology, 123(1), pp. 1-29. (doi: 10.1111/eth.12576)

Hill, D. L. , Pillay, N. and Schradin, C. (2015) Alternative reproductive tactics in female striped mice: heavier females are more likely to breed solitarily than communally. Journal of Animal Ecology, 84(6), pp. 1497-1508. (doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.12431) (PMID:26250697)

Hill, D. L. , Pillay, N. and Schradin, C. (2015) Alternative reproductive tactics in female striped mice: solitary breeders have lower corticosterone levels than communal breeders. Hormones and Behavior, 71, pp. 1-9. (doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.03.004) (PMID:25828632)

Hill, D.L. and Wall, E. (2015) Dairy cattle in a temperate climate: the effects of weather on milk yield and composition depend on management. Animal, 9(1), pp. 138-149. (doi: 10.1017/S1751731114002456) (PMID:25315451)

Hill, D. L., Lindstrom, J. , McCafferty, D. J. and Nager, R. G. (2014) Female but not male zebra finches adjust heat output in response to increased incubation demand. Journal of Experimental Biology, 217(8), pp. 1326-1332. (doi: 10.1242/jeb.095323) (PMID:24363422)

Hill, D.L. , Lindstrom, J. and Nager, R.G. (2011) Carry-over effects of male extra-pair copulation opportunity on biparental effort in zebra finches. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 65(11), pp. 2049-2059. (doi: 10.1007/s00265-011-1214-2)

Hill, D. L. , Arañibar-Rojas, H. and MacLeod, R. (2008) Wattled Curassows in Bolivia: abundance, habitat use, and conservation status. Journal of Field Ornithology, 79(4), pp. 345-351.

This list was generated on Sat Apr 10 10:05:01 2021 BST.

Supervision

Current research students

Rachel Findlay-Robinson (full time PhD. 2018-) Climatic effects on life history strategy in a hibernating mammal, the hazel dormouse. Lead Supervisor; co-supervised by Dr Volker Deecke and Dr Andrew Weatherall.

I am also supervising three MSc projects in Animal Welfare Science, and supervise around six final year projects per year. 

Supervision areas

I welcome enquiries from potential research students in the areas of behavioural and physiological responses to environmental change; stress physiology; thermal biology and life history strategies with a view to preparing funding applications. Information on applying for a PhD at the University of Glasgow can be found here. Funding schemes include NERC CASE studentships and Commonwealth Scholarships.

Teaching

I co-ordinate two courses for MSc Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law:

  • BIOL5116 Animal Welfare Assessment
  • BIOL5127 Animal Legislation and Societal Issues

 

I also teach on the following courses:

Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery

  • Digestion (Year 1) 

BSc Veterinary Bioscience

  • VETSCI1006 Digestive Physiology and Metabolism (Year 1)

MSc Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law

  • BIOL5114 Animal Ethics
  • BOL5115 Animal Welfare Science
  • BIOL5126 Key Research Skills
  • BIOL5134P Research project

I created and lead the annual British Society of Animal Science (BSAS) R and Statistics Workshop (2013 to present), a residential course aimed at PhD students and professional scientists.

I am External Examiner at the University of Derby for

  • BSc Zoology (Hons)
  • BSc Biology (Hons)
  • Certificate of Credit in Tropical Marine Biology.

Professional activities & recognition

Professional & learned societies

  • 2006: Member, Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour
  • 2013: R and Statistics Workshop lead, British Society of Animal Science
  • 2016: Member, British Ecological Society
  • 2016: Member, Animal Welfare Research Network
  • 2017: Member, Royal Society of Biology
  • 2017: Fellow, Higher Education Academy / Advance HE
  • 2018: Certified Animal Scientist, British Society of Animal Science
  • 2018: Member, International Society for Behavioral Ecology

Selected international presentations

  • 2018: UK-Israel conference on Climate Change and Food Systems (organised by the British Council and the UK Science and Innovation Network), invited speaker and panel chair (Tel Aviv, Israel)
  • 2018: 17th Biennial Congress of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology (contributed talk and invited moderator for Social Behavior) (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)

Davina Hill