Veterinary & Animal Science Research

The group conducts research in Veterinary Tropical Diseases and Food Biosecurity.

We are a multidisciplinary, multiinstitutional and multinational group with unique expertise in tropical veterinary science, epidemiology, microbiology and public health and are ideally positioned to work in tropical regions of the world.

The Animal Production Group is focused on improving the efficiency and productivity of both national and international agricultural sectors with a particular emphasis on tropical regions.

Agricultural production and services contribute 3% to Australia’s total gross domestic product with the gross value of Australian agriculture in 2011-12 being $46.7 billion. Agricultural production plays a vital role in alleviating poverty, sustaining the health of human populations and in socioeconomic development.

Animal production industries are critical to circumvent world-wide food shortages. However the fertility of animals in these industries is directly at risk from the impacts of adverse environmental conditions such as heat stress, social stress, disease, malnutrition, maternal age, and even in vitro embryo production.

The Fertility in Adverse Environments Group uses in vivo/in vitro fertilization systems coupled with gamete & molecular biology techniques to investigate the underlying mechanisms that affect gamete quality and embryo survival in terrestrial and marine animals. Moreover, we actively develop mitigation strategies that will ultimately improve reproductive performance in these species.

The dry tropical rangelands of northern Australia cover almost a quarter of continental Australia and account for nearly 70% of the Australian beef industry. The Australian Dept. of Environment describes them as “characterised by vast tracts of eucalypt savanna and native grasslands, small areas of cleared land and scattered settlements, and the rivers and wetlands that sustain ecosystems”.

The Tropical Rangeland Ecosystems Group's research interests are designed to promote sustainable animal production systems and protect catchments and marine environments associated with tropical rangelands through the management of the quality and quantity of plant biomass in these environments.

James Cook University has long standing R&D expertise in aquatic animal health and diagnosis that integrates viral, bacterial and parasite diagnostics with practical, applied research.

Over 30 years of supervision of research degrees has also created a ripple effect in this field with graduates working in both Australia and Asia-Pacific.

Current topics of research for the Aquatic Animal Health and Disease Group include physiology and control of parasites, phage-therapy against antibiotic resistant bacteria, the application of cutting edge technology including RNAi and recombinantly expressed proteins to manage diseases in aquaculture.

The Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture (CSTFA) brings together a multidisciplinary team organised into 3 main Research Themes: Aquatic food security and safety, novel aquatic products and applications, and human dimensions of aquatic resources and production.