Katherine Dashper

The Development of a Novel Questionnaire Approach to the Investigation of Horse Training, Management, and Behaviour

Publisher: MDPI AG

Date: 24-10-2020

DOI: 10.3390/ANI10111960

Abstract: The Equine Behaviour Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ) is a questionnaire instrument developed to obtain quantitative data on the domestic equine triad of training, management, and behaviour of horses. The E-BARQ was developed to identify how changes in training and management impact behaviour over time, to define normal behaviour in horses, and to discover how to improve rider safety and horse welfare, leading to ethical equitation. During the development of the E-BARQ, we also investigated how best to motivate stakeholders to engage with this citizen science project. The pilot version of the E-BARQ collected qualitative data on respondents’ experience of the questionnaire. The pilot questionnaire was developed with the assistance of an international panel (with professional expertise in horse training, equitation science, veterinary science, equestrian coaching, welfare, animal behaviour, and elite-level riding), and was used to collect data on 1320 horses from approximately 1194 owner/caregiver respondents, with an option for respondents to provide free-text feedback. A Rotated Principal Component Analysis of the 218 behavioural, management, and training questionnaire items extracted a total of 65 rotated components. Thirty-six of the 65 rotated components demonstrated high internal reliability. Of the 218 questionnaire items, 43 items failed to reach the Rotated Principal Component Analysis criteria and were not included in the final version of the E-BARQ. Survey items that failed the Rotated Principal Component Analysis inclusion criteria were discarded if found to have a less than 85% response rate, or a variance of less than 1.3. Of those that survived the Rotated Principal Component Analysis, items were further assigned to horse temperament (17 rotated components), equitation (11 rotated components), and management and equipment (8 rotated components) groups. The feedback from respondents indicated the need for further items to be added to the questionnaire, resulting in a total of 214 items for the final E-BARQ survey. Many of these items were further grouped into question matrices, and the demographic items for horse and handler included, giving a final total of 97 questions on the E-BARQ questionnaire. These results provided content validity, showing that the questionnaire items were an acceptable representation of the entire horse training, management, and behavioural domain for the development of the final E-BARQ questionnaire.

Dimethylsulfide (DMS) fluxes from permeable coral reef carbonate sediments

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 2019

DOI: 10.1016/J.MARCHEM.2018.11.008

Pore water conditions driving calcium carbonate dissolution in reef sands

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 06-2020

DOI: 10.1016/J.GCA.2020.04.001

Assessing changes in nutrient status in the Richmond River estuary, Australia, using paleolimnological methods

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 13-08-2010

DOI: 10.1007/S10933-010-9457-X

Diel temperature and pH variability scale with depth across diverse coral reef habitats

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 20-12-2019

DOI: 10.1002/LOL2.10129

Abstract: Coral reefs are facing intensifying stressors, largely due to global increases in seawater temperature and decreases in pH. However, there is extensive environmental variability within coral reef ecosystems, which can impact how organisms respond to global trends. We deployed spatial arrays of autonomous sensors across distinct shallow coral reef habitats to determine patterns of spatiotemporal variability in seawater physicochemical parameters. Temperature and pH were positively correlated over the course of a day due to solar heating and light‐driven metabolism. The mean temporal and spatial ranges of temperature and pH were positively correlated across all sites, with different regimes of variability observed in different reef types. Ultimately, depth was a reliable predictor of the average diel ranges in both seawater temperature and pH. These results demonstrate that there is widespread environmental variability on diel timescales within coral reefs related to water column depth, which needs to be included in assessments of how global change will locally affect reef ecosystems.

A different way forward: an ecological perspective on leadership in outdoor adventurous activity.

Publisher: CABI

Date: 21-10-2021

DOI: 10.1079/9781789248203.0012

Denitrification, anammox, and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium across a mosaic of estuarine benthic habitats

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 25-12-2020

DOI: 10.1002/LNO.11681

Antagonistic Effects of Ocean Acidification and Rising Sea Surface Temperature on the Dissolution of Coral Reef Carbonate Sediments

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Date: 02-11-2016

DOI: 10.3389/FMARS.2016.00211

An ecological-phenomenological perspective on multispecies leisure and the horse-human relationship in events

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 04-03-2019

DOI: 10.1080/02614367.2019.1586981

Methane and carbon dioxide dynamics in a subtropical estuary over a diel cycle: Insights from automated in situ radioactive and stable isotope measurements

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 2015

DOI: 10.1016/J.MARCHEM.2014.10.017

Building Bridges between Theory and Practice: How Citizen Science Can Bring Equine Researchers and Practitioners Together

Publisher: MDPI AG

Date: 13-09-2020

DOI: 10.3390/ANI10091644

Abstract: Over the last decade, equitation scientists have increasingly relied on online survey tools to gather information on horse training, management, behaviour and other equine-related subjects. With a detailed knowledge of their animals, horse owners and riders are ideally placed to contribute to research but are sometimes reluctant to engage with and devote time to surveys. The current article reveals, through consultation with stakeholder groups, the potential of a range of motivational items to boost horse-owner participation. A short, three-question inquiry was developed to rank respondents’ (n = 747) preferred survey tools and other items designed to engage the equestrian community with the donation of data. Respondents were asked to assign themselves to one of four categories: academics/researchers, professionals, practitioners and enthusiasts. The inquiry offered respondents the choice of three hypothetical tools: a standardised tool to measure behaviour over time a logbook tool to record training and behaviour on a regular basis and a chart to compare an in idual horse’s behaviour with that of the general horse population. While analysis revealed that stakeholders considered at least one of the tools to be useful, it also exposed significant differences among the perceived usefulness of the various tools themselves. Using free-text responses, participants described the challenges faced when gathering information on horse training, management and behaviour. Qualitative analysis of these data revealed the need to improve the current dissemination of scientific findings to bridge various knowledge gaps. The Equine Behavior Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ) is a longitudinal instrument that investigates horse training and management practices and permits an analysis of their relationship with behaviour. The current stakeholder consultation contributed to the final version of the E-BARQ questionnaire, identified incentivising items that can be offered to putative E-BARQ respondents, guided the eventual selection of a Share-& -Compare feedback chart, and reinforced the need for open-access dissemination of findings.

Seasonal variability of calcium carbonate precipitation and dissolution in shallow coral reef sediments

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 20-11-2019

DOI: 10.1002/LNO.11357

Australian vegetated coastal ecosystems as global hotspots for climate change mitigation

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 02-10-2019

DOI: 10.1038/S41467-019-12176-8

Abstract: Policies aiming to preserve vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCE tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions require national assessments of blue carbon resources. Here, we present organic carbon (C) storage in VCE across Australian climate regions and estimate potential annual CO 2 emission benefits of VCE conservation and restoration. Australia contributes 5–11% of the C stored in VCE globally (70–185 Tg C in aboveground biomass, and 1,055–1,540 Tg C in the upper 1 m of soils). Potential CO 2 emissions from current VCE losses are estimated at 2.1–3.1 Tg CO 2 -e yr -1 , increasing annual CO 2 emissions from land use change in Australia by 12–21%. This assessment, the most comprehensive for any nation to-date, demonstrates the potential of conservation and restoration of VCE to underpin national policy development for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Late Afternoon Seasonal Transition to Dissolution in a Coral Reef: An Early Warning of a Net Dissolving Ecosystem?

Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Date: 19-03-2021

DOI: 10.1029/2020GL090811

Abstract: There are concerns that reefs will transition from net calcifying to net dissolving in the near future due to decreasing calcification and increasing dissolution rates. Here, we present in situ rates of net ecosystem calcification (NEC) and net ecosystem production (NEP) on a coral reef flat using a slack‐water approach. Up until dusk, the reef was net calcifying in most months but shifted to net dissolution in austral summer, coinciding with high respiration rates and a lower aragonite saturation state (Ω arag ). The estimated sediment contribution to NEC ranged from 8% to 21% during the day and 45% to 78% at night, indicating that high rates of sediment dissolution may cause the transition to reef dissolution. This late afternoon seasonal transition to negative NEC may be an early warning sign of the reef shifting to a net dissolving state and may be occurring on other reefs.

Production of N ₂ and N ₂ O from nitrate ingested by sheep

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 12-06-2017

DOI: 10.1111/JPN.12725

Abstract: Supplementing ruminants with nitrate (NO3-) reduces their enteric methane (CH

The Anthropomorphic Application of Gender Stereotypes to Horses

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 02-11-2018

DOI: 10.1080/08927936.2018.1529349

The short-term combined effects of temperature and organic matter enrichment on permeable coral reef carbonate sediment metabolism and dissolution

Publisher: Copernicus GmbH

Date: 12-2017

DOI: 10.5194/BG-14-5377-2017

Abstract: Abstract. Rates of gross primary production (GPP), respiration (R), and net calcification (Gnet) in coral reef sediments are expected to change in response to global warming (and the consequent increase in sea surface temperature) and coastal eutrophication (and the subsequent increase in the concentration of organic matter, OM, being filtered by permeable coral reef carbonate sediments). To date, no studies have examined the combined effect of seawater warming and OM enrichment on coral reef carbonate sediment metabolism and dissolution. This study used 22 h in situ benthic chamber incubations to examine the combined effect of temperature (T) and OM, in the form of coral mucus and phytodetritus, on GPP, R, and Gnet in the permeable coral reef carbonate sediments of Heron Island lagoon, Australia. Compared to control incubations, both warming (+2.4 °C) and OM increased R and GPP. Under warmed conditions, R (Q10 = 10.7) was enhanced to a greater extent than GPP (Q10 = 7.3), resulting in a shift to net heterotrophy and net dissolution. Under both phytodetritus and coral mucus treatments, GPP was enhanced to a greater extent than R, resulting in a net increase in GPP / R and Gnet. The combined effect of warming and OM enhanced R and GPP, but the net effect on GPP / R and Gnet was not significantly different from control incubations. These findings show that a shift to net heterotrophy and dissolution due to short-term increases in seawater warming may be countered by a net increase GPP / R and Gnet due to short-term increases in nutrient release from OM.

It’s all about the sex, or is it? Humans, horses and temperament

Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)

Date: 14-05-2019

DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0216699

Keele University

Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

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University Of Leeds

Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

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Royal Agricultural University

Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

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Leeds Beckett University

Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100156

Start Date: 06-2020

End Date: 12-2021

Amount: $471,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100155

Start Date: 01-2021

End Date: 12-2023

Amount: $430,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100156

Start Date: 01-2012

End Date: 06-2014

Amount: $250,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP200200910

Start Date: 09-2021

End Date: 12-2024

Amount: $704,711.00

Funder: Australian Research Council