Diet, dung, and disease

parasite transmission in cattle

factors

influencing

1 Summary
Rothamsted research have one position open for an undergraduate
student to take part in a Research Experience Placement REP. The
position is funded by BBSRC through the SWBio DTP scheme. The REP will
be for 10 consecutive weeks during Summer 2015, the student will
receive 200 per week (2000 total) to cover living expenses. The location
of the REP will be at Rothamsted Researchs Farm Platform site, North
Wyke, in Devon (EX20 2SB). The project involved working alongside a
current PhD student on their project, assisting with research, and learning
a range of techniques.

2 Eligibility criteria
If you do not meet all of the following criteria you are ineligible to apply.
1. UK/EU (home) student due to funding restrictions students paying
international fees are ineligible to apply.
2. Enrolled at a UK university.
3. In the second year of an undergraduate degree in the life/biological
sciences.
4. Expected to achieve a 2:1 or above.
5. Willing to work with animals and dung.

3 Transport and accommodation

Transport can be provided from Exeter to North Wyke (30 mins) daily
(there may be a small cost surrounding this), or alternatively, the
successful candidate may make their own way to the site daily.
The successful candidate must arrange their own accommodation.

For information on REPs:

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/swbio/reps/index_html
For more information on Rothamsted Research and the North Wyke site:
http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/
http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/northwyke

4 Project outline
Parasitic diseases cost the UK agricultural industry hundreds of million
pounds per year and reduce animal health and welfare. Parasites typically
enter the environment through dung before infecting a new host,
therefore the nature of dung and how it degrades is an important driver in
the transmission of parasitic diseases. With drug resistance becoming an
ever-increasing threat to human and veterinary medicine it is crucial that
we understand the environmental and ecological aspects of epidemiology,
in order to develop new strategies for disease management. The North
Wyke Farm Platform is a unique and ideal resource for investigating
agricultural diseases in a real farming system.
The current project investigates how the diet of cattle influences the
composition and characteristics of dung and its subsequent degradation
with respect to parasite transmission. There will be a field experiment in
which the degradation dung of varying types is analysed over time on
different pastures. A lab based experiment will investigate the movement
of parasite eggs out of dung in varying environmental conditions to learn
more about how climatic factors influence egg dispersal.
The student will assist and receive training in all practical stages of the
project, including experimental design, sampling, lab analysis, and
statistical analysis. Techniques will include: forage analysis (fibre, crude
protein, crude fat, carbohydrates, moisture, organic matter), particle size
analysis, parasite diagnostics, and dung/herbage sampling. It is probable
that this list will expand during the project to include a wider range of
training opportunities.
The successful candidate will work closely alongside the PhD student and
will be able to contribute to the running and planning of the project. Given
sufficient input and if work from the project is published, the student may
have the opportunity to be an author on a paper.