Preliminary feasibility study for a sheep efficiency data tool

Ann McLaren & Nicola Lambe

 

The objective of this work is to determine what additional data would be beneficial, alongside the existing statutory data currently recorded through ScotEID, to incorporate into a “MyFlockStats” decision-making tool to help drive efficiency in the sheep sector. This report is intended to be a preliminary feasibility study to inform any future development, commissioning and operation of a “MyFlockStats” system to assist in the improvement of efficient sheep production in Scotland as part of the aims of the Vision for Agriculture.

Dr Chris Pooley

I work at BioSS as a mathematical modeller. My theoretical effort has largely focused on population and individual-level dynamic process-based models using and developing a variety of techniques: data augmentation MCMC, particle methods, model and posterior-based proposals, multi-temperature MCMC, novel ABC methods and reliable approaches to model selection. These have allowed me to investigate, amongst other things, the genetic basis for epidemiological traits, disease transmission experiments, disease spread in wild populations and phylodynamic analyses. 

Chris Pooley

Dr Martin Knight

I am a mathematical modeller focussing on Agent-Based Modelling approaches to represent real-world complex systems. I am currently applying these models to endemic disease spread in the Scottish cattle trading system, and researching the effectiveness of novel disease control measures and their impacts at systems- and individual-level. More generally, I am interested in modelling the dynamics of behavioural adaptation of individuals in response to the introduction of well-intentioned interventions.

Martin Knight

BioSS
James Clerk Maxwell Building
Peter Guthrie Tait Road, The King's Buildings
Edinburgh
EH9 3FD

Save our tatties! New approaches for virus control in Scottish potato crops.

Potato is the second most important food crop in the UK, and the underpinning seed potato industry contributes >£1 billion to Scotland’s economy. Aphid-vectored viruses threaten potato harvests because infected crops are downgraded or destroyed. Historically, Scotland has maintained low virus levels in potato crops, but this is changing due to the warming climate, new virus variants, loss of crop protection products, and aphid resistance to insecticides.

Dr Peter Skelsey

Peter is a Research Leader in the Information and Computational Sciences department at the James Hutton Institute. He is a plant disease epidemiologist with 15 years’ research experience in epidemiological modelling, with a focus on developing decision support tools for agriculture. 

 

Area of Strategic Research Programme: Lead of Topic Line A1 (Plant Disease), institute Lead of Theme A (Plant & Animal Disease), Lead PI for project JHI-A1-1 “Epidemiology of key pests and diseases.”

Peter Skelsey

The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA, Scotland

Dr Eugene Ryabov

Eugene is a research leader in virology in the Molecular plant pathology group within the Cell and Molecular Sciences department of JHI. His research focuses on virus-host interactions in plants and invertebrates and includes the discovery of novel viruses, analysis of virus population structure and diversity, host antiviral defenses and viral counter-defenses, the impact of viruses on the host physiology, and the wider effect of microbes on agricultural and natural ecosystems.

 

Areas of Strategic Research Programme 

Eugene Ryabov

James Hutton Institute

Errol Road

Dundee

Scotland

DD2 5DA