Context of the internship

The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE) is a world leader in agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences. Its research aims to build solutions for multi-performing agriculture, quality food and sustainable management of resources and ecosystems. The joint research unit Physiology, Environment and Genetics for Animals and Livestock Systems (UMR Pegase) is located in Brittany, 10 km from Rennes, in Saint-Gilles. INRAE and Institut Agro agents carry out research and provide training in animal biology and breeding systems. Within the unit, researchers from the Genetics and Genomics team study the genetic background of the adaptation of laying hens to innovative and sustainable rearing environments.
Cage rearing of laying hens is disappearing in Europe, in favor of alternative systems that offer living conditions more respectful of animal welfare. In 2020, 52% of laying hens in the European Union were raised in alternative systems to cages. The End the Cage Age citizens' initiative has even set a date of 2027 for the end of cage farming in the European Union. In alternative systems, animals are more exposed to perturbations that disrupt their living environment, such as a heatwave or a disease outbreak. We therefore need to select animals that are less sensitive to these disturbances. But this sensitivity is difficult to quantify. Thanks to new high-throughput phenotyping tools, such as an electronic nest, we have access to information that enables us to study animal responses to perturbations, such as changes in habits like egg-laying rhythms. We then calculate resilience indicators based on these deviations.
Your objective is to study these indicators of resilience in laying hens through changes in laying rhythms recorded on a daily basis.

Missions

Your mission will be to calculate known resilience indicators and test new ones based on egg-laying rhythms. You will then estimate the genetic parameters of these resilience indicators: heritabilities and genetic correlations with other traits.
This internship is an opportunity to discover impact research in animal genetics (public-private partnership). During your internship, you'll learn about research by identifying the problem you've been assigned, carrying out a search and a literature review on the topic, analyzing data (with R, for example), performing genetic calculations, writing a scientific report and taking part in the day-to-day life of a research team.
A Ph.D. thesis on this topic may be discussed during the internship.

Profile and skills required

• Interest in genetic improvement of adaptive capacities of farm animals.
• Interest in data analysis.
• Agricultural engineer or Master's degree.
• Possibility to do this internship in English.

Reception and contact details

• Internship allowance: approximately 586 € per month (according to the minimum hourly rate in effect in January 2025).
• Place of the training course: INRAE, UMR Pegase, 35590 Saint-Gilles.
• Lunch is available at the INRAE restaurant at a subsidized rate.
• Possible access by public transport from Rennes.
• Duration / period desired: 6 months, possible from september 2024 according to the schedule of your university.
• First contact by email only (nicolas.bedere[at]inrae.fr) with CV and cover letter.