Honours in Animal Science

As an animal science honours student you become a member of the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and part of a research group.

The school has a range of industry, research and teaching partners. These partnerships will assist you in gaining industry experience and in developing contacts within your areas of chosen specialisation. The school is also involved in various cooperative research centres and research that spans across the University of Adelaide.

Facilities and training opportunities

The school is based at Roseworthy campus, although not all honours projects are based there.

The labs have advanced scientific instrumentation for analytical research, while the Roseworthy Farm gives access to animal research facilities. The Veterinary Health Centre houses veterinary clinics and hospitals for companion, equine and production animals, the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, teaching laboratories and skills suites.

Honours projects

Supervisors with available animal science projects have been added to the 'honours project finder'. If you are interested in their research you should talk with the respective supervisors to discuss potential projects.

If you are interested in a particular area of research that's not included, talk with the honours coordinator to discuss other opportunities to develop an honours project.

Browse all Animal Science projects

Subthemes

Animal & veterinary bioscience
Companion animal
Equine
Production animal
Pathobiology, infectious disease & public health

Animal & veterinary bioscience projects

Reptile welfare assessment tool development

Honours project: Husbandry of reptiles is complex; signs of pain or disease can be challenging to recognise, and behaviour is not always well understood. This project will build on preliminary work in developing a practical welfare assessment tool for captive reptiles.

Stockpersons' knowledge of Codes of Practice in the pig industry

Honours project: Undertake qualitative research methods to determine farmer awareness and knowledge of a range of secondary legislative documents pertaining to the pig industry.

Working with animals: Knowledge of delegated legislation in biomedical research

Honours project: Undertake qualitative research methods to determine personnel awareness and knowledge of a range of secondary legislative documents pertaining to the use of animals in research.

Do gut microbes promote migratory fattening in shorebirds?

Honours project: Determine if gut microbes promote migratory fattening in shorebirds, using commercial broiler chickens as a model.

Novel markers of animal emotion

Honours project: Can differential expression of microRNA’s distinguish valence of emotional state?

Genetic mutations associated with skin & wool growth in sheep

Honours project: Identify genetic mutations in sheep DSC1 & DSG4 genes essential for skin and wool follicle architecture.

Identification of genes controlling marbling in cattle

Honours project: Identify genes controlling the deposition of the intramuscular fat (that is, marbling) in beef cattle to better understand fat metabolism and to provide genetic markers for selection to improve beef quality.

Iodothyronine deiodinase Betsy Smartt [CC0]

Imprinting status of type III iodothyronine deiodinase in cattle as QTL candidate for birthweight

Honours project: Explore the bovine genetics and analyse the affect of specific genes on birthweight in a Droughtmaster resource population.

Mitochondrial DNA haplotype & response to placental restriction in sheep

Honours project: Determine effects of mitochondrial DNA haplotype on extent and response to placental restriction in sheep.

Animal comparative physiology

Honours project: Study animal and bird physiology, how animals function and how function evolves.

Yellowtail Kingfish - Brian Gratwicke (CC BY 2.0)

Digestive tract health in Yellowtail Kingfish

Honours project: Better understand the effects of an emulsifier and different energy levels and on the digestive tract health of Yellowtail Kingfish.

Lipid metabolism in Yellowtail Kingfish

Honours project: Investigate lipid metabolism in Yellowtail Kingfish fed different energy diets, with and without an emulsifier at winter water temperatures.

Haliotis laegivata - Green lipped abalone, Peter Southwood [CC BY-SA 3.0]

Digestive tract health of greenlip abalone

Honours project: Explore the dietary inclusions of solvent extracted soybean meal and dehulled lupin meal in abalone diets.

Grape marc meal effect on digestive tract health of greenlip abalone

Honours project: Interpret the effect of dietary inclusions of grape marc meal on the digestive tract health of greenlip abalone.

Validation of a novel method of judgement bias testing in rats

Honours project: Validate a shortened method of judgement bias testing in rats.

Companion animal health projects

Prevalence of lungworm in cats in South Australia

Honours project: Undertake a survey to examine the prevalence of lungworm in cats in South Australia.

Does anxiety in dogs affect heart function?

Honours project: Determine if there are links between anxiety in dogs and heart function.

Analysis of online ads for pets

Honours project: Use data analysis and quantitative surveys to explore the numbers and types of ads for pets available online in Australia.

Assessment of animal therapies

Honours project: Conduct research into animal assisted interventions and activities in dogs and horses.

In vitro maturation of canine oocytes

Honours project: Determine the effects of different in vitro maturation (IVM) conditions on the developmental competence of canine oocytes.

Cancer in Australian dogs

Honours project: Explore cancer in dogs and develop a comprehensive picture of the prevalence of specific spontaneous mutations.

Cat sensitivity to the insecticide permethrin

Honours project: Why are cats so sensitive to the insecticide permethrin, unlike other mammals and birds?

Efficacy of Trazodone to reduce anxiety in shelter dogs

Honours project: Study the efficacy of Trazodone as an anxiolytic in shelter dogs and an evaluation of possible haematological and biochemical changes.

Genetic survey: Inherited blood disorder in Pomeranian dogs

Honours project: Discover whether or not a defective gene is widespread in the Australian population of Pomeranian dogs.

Equine health projects

Equine athletic performance

Honours project: Study the causes of poor performance in equine athletes.

Prevalence & significance of lameness in sports horses

Honours project: Conduct research into the prevalence and significance of lameness in sports horses in training and/or competition.

Temporal variability of lameness in horses kept on pasture

Honours project: Investigate the temporal variability of objectively detected lameness in horses kept on pasture and not subjected to controlled exercise.

Equine lameness & biomechanics

Honours project: Define the potential detrimental effect of the surgical transection of the palmar annular volar ligament on the inter-sesamoid ligament of athletic horses.

Assessment of animal therapies

Honours project: Conduct research into animal assisted interventions and activities in dogs and horses.

Potential for bacteriophages to control Rhodococcus equi infections in foals

Honours project: Help find a cure for Rhodococcus equi, a zoonotic infection in grazing animals such as horses and foals.

Production animal health projects

Stockpersons' knowledge of Codes of Practice in the pig industry

Honours project: Undertake qualitative research methods to determine farmer awareness and knowledge of a range of secondary legislative documents pertaining to the pig industry.

Improving ovarian blood flow in pigs

Honours project: Determine whether nutritional supplementation with arginine prior to ovulation improves ovarian blood flow and oocyte quality in female pigs.

Factors affecting embryo gender in production animals

Honours project: Investigate what factors affect the gender of cow, sheep and pig embryos.

Maternal caffeine supplementation on thermoregulation & survival of new born lambs

Honours project: This project builds on our work in pigs demonstrating a positive effect of maternal caffeine supplementation on piglet survival and thermoregulation.

Evaluate changes in the cognitive ability of sheep due to disease development

Honours project: This project involves developing cognitive and behavioural tests in sheep to evaluate disease phenotypes.

Identification of genes controlling marbling in cattle

Effect of colostrum components on ruminant health & performance

Honours project: Determine the best feeding strategy of newborn calves for lifetime production.

Mitochondrial DNA haplotype & response to placental restriction in sheep

Honours project: Determine effects of mitochondrial DNA haplotype on extent and response to placental restriction in sheep.

Effect of inoculation of the neonatal ruminant with foreign microbiota

Honours project: Analyse the effect of inoculation of neonatal lambs with known populations of rumen microbes on the development of the innate immune system.

Genetics of lamb survival

Honours project: Examine the genetic relationship between birth weight and lamb survival in a research flock.

Assessing cellular response to bioactive compounds as a prelude to testing in vivo

Honours project: Establish tissue culture and tissue explant systems for the bovine mammary gland.

Cattle colostrum programming for a healthy life

Honours project: Compare the biological and molecular effects on a calf of receiving colostrum from its natural mother, from a different cow or not receiving colostrum at all.

Thermal imaging of lamb temperature to help boost survival

Honours project: This project aims to assess lamb body temperature using thermography as an indirect selection criterion for genetically improving its survival.

Design & implement a sheep breeding program at Roseworthy

Honours project: Design a breeding program for the Roseworthy sheep flock and assist in its implementation.

Detecting Huntington's disease using naturally occurring compounds in the breath

Honours project: Identify volatile organic compounds from exhaled breath for early diagnosis of Huntington’s disease using a sheep model.

Growth signalling pathways acting on the intestinal stem cell

Honours project: This project aims to access activity of positive and negative signalling pathways that act on intestinal stem cells in pigs.

Impact of birth trauma on piglet mortality

Honours project: Are lesions indicative of birth trauma present on still-born piglets? If so, are these lesions are also present on piglets dying from other causes.

Genomics of tropical composite beef cattle

Honours project: Work on a project to improve the accuracy of breeding value estimation in a commercial breeding program.

Trans-Tasman cattle maternal efficiency

Honours project: Explore genetic selection strategies for maternal productivity in Angus and Hereford cattle in Australia and New Zealand.

Factors affecting fertility of female pigs

Honours project: Study the effect of maternal parity and suckled litter size on sexual development of female pigs.

Optimising fodder beet grazing management for beef cattle

Honours project: Investigate the stocking rates, allocation of leaf and bulb and daily allocation of beets and the effect that changes in these parameters have on cattle performance.

Managing diurnal changes in rumen pH of cattle grazing fodder beet

Honours project: Increase our knowledge of the extent of rumen pH fluctuations in cattle grazing fodder beet long-term.

Sow conformation & performance

Honours project: Determine the relationship between sow conformation (assessed at gilt selection) and performance over four parities.

Investigating the cause & prevention of red gut in lambs grazing lucerne

Honours project: Identify factors contributing to the incidence of red gut in lambs grazing lucerne, and develop strategies to prevent red gut from occurring.

Maternal behaviour in Merino ewes & neuroendocrine parameters

Honours project: Determine relationships between maternal behaviour and neuroendocrine parameters in the Merino sheep.

School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences image - Will van Wettere

Improving survival of new born piglets & sow performance

Honours project: This research aims to increase the reproductive output of sows by increasing piglet survival using supplementary nutritional strategies in late gestation.

Improving timing of farrowing

Honours project: Determine whether a longer-acting oxytocin will enhance the timing of parturition and survivability of neonatal pigs.

Reducing sow pain & discomfort during farrowing: effects on lactation performance

Honours project: This study will employ corticosteroid and/or NSAID treatments to reduce stress with subsequent monitoring of farrowing performance, neonatal piglet viability, and pre-weaning growth rates.