Dr Jessica Monk

Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Welfare - School of Environmental and Rural Science

Jessica Monk

Email: jmonk5@une.edu.au

Biography

My goal is to contribute to a future of animal agriculture that is rooted in compassion, innovation and sustainability. I enjoy a variety of strategic and applied research, from exploring the neurophysiological drivers of animal behaviour to collaborating with producers and industry partners to deliver practical on-farm solutions.

Qualifications

  • BAnVetBioSc (Hons I) – University of Sydney
  • PhD in Animal Science – University of New England

Awards

  • University of New England 3Rs Award 2025
  • University of New England Internal Funding Scheme grant 2024
  • Chancellor’s Doctoral Research Medal (UNE) 2019
  • Presentation prizes: ISAE (2019), Sheep CRC Postgraduate conference (2018), UFAW Animal Welfare Across Borders (2018), SMARTBEEF (2017)

Teaching Areas

  • ANSC304 Animals and Us: Ethics and Welfare (Unit coordinator)
  • ANSC101 Animal Handling (Unit coordinator)
  • ANSC201 Animal Physiology
  • ANPR360 Beef Production
  • BCHM240 Biochemistry and Microbiology for Rural Science

Research Interests

  • On-farm welfare assessment
  • Developing enrichments for livestock
  • Measuring animal affect and personality
  • Managing animal health
  • Digital tools and tech for livestock management
  • Optimising pastures and grazing management

Research Supervision Experience

Supervision for Honours, Masters and PhD students in animal behaviour and welfare

Publications

Monk, J. E., Campbell, D.L.M. Lee, C. (2023) Invited review: Future application of an attention bias test to assess affective states in sheep. Animal Production Science, 63 (6), 523-534. doi:10.1071/AN22260

Monk, J. E., Belson, S., Lee, C. (2019) Pharmacologically-induced stress has minimal impact on judgement and attention biases in sheep. Scientific Reports. 9, article number 11446. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-47691-7

Salvin, H. E., Monk, J. E., Cafe, L. M., and Lee, C. (2022) Benchmarking to drive improvements in extensive beef cattle welfare: a perspective on developing an Australian producer-driven system. Animal Production Science. 62 (16), 1539-1547. doi:10.1071/AN21573

Schiller, K., Monk, J. E., Lee, C., and Horback, K., (2023) Immune response potential does not indicate behavioral reactivity in sheep subjected to consecutive threat tests. Frontiers in Animal Science. 4:1160202. doi: 10.3389/fanim.2023.1160202

Marini D., Monk J.E., Campbell D.L.M., Lee C., Belson S., Small A. (2023). Sex impacts pain behaviour but not emotional reactivity of lambs following ring tail-docking. PeerJ, 11, e15092 doi:10.7717/peerj.15092

Monk, J. E., Belson, S., Colditz, I. G., Lee, C. (2018) Attention bias test differentiates anxiety and depression in sheep. Frontiers in Behavioural Neuroscience. 12 (246), 1-14. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00246

Dickson, E.J., Campbell, D.L.M., Lee, C., Lea, J.M., McDonald, P.G., Monk, J.E. (2022) Beef Cattle Preference and Usage of Environmental Enrichments Provided Simultaneously in a Pasture-Based Environment. Animals, 12 (24), 3544. doi:10.3390/ani12243544

Dickson, E. J., Campbell, D. L., Monk, J. E., Lea, J. M., Colditz, I. G., & Lee, C. (2022). Increasing mud levels in a feedlot influences beef cattle behaviours but not preference for feedlot or pasture environments. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 254, 105718. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105718

Dickson, E. J., Monk, J. E., Lee, C., McDonald, P. G., Narayan, E., & Campbell, D. L. (2024). Loss of a grooming enrichment impacts physical, behavioural, and physiological measures of welfare in grazing beef cattle. animal, 18(3), 101091. doi: 10.1016/j.animal.2024.101091

Monk, J. E., Colditz, I. G., Clark, S., Lee, C. (2023) Repeatability of an attention bias test for sheep suggests variable influence of state and trait affect on behaviour. PeerJ. 11, e14730 doi:10.7717/peerj.14730

Monk, J. E., Hine, B. C., Colditz, I. G., and Lee, C. (2018). A novel protocol to assess acclimation rate in Bos taurus heifers during yard weaning. Animals. 8, 51. doi:10.3390/ani8040051.

Monk, J. E., Doyle, R. E., Colditz, I. G., Belson, S., Cronin, G. M., Lee, C. (2018) Towards a more practical attention bias test to assess affective state in sheep. PLoSONE. 13 (1), e0190404. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0190404

Memberships

  • National Primary Industries Animal Welfare Research, Development and Extension Strategy (NAWRDES)
  • International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE)
  • Australian Association of Animal Sciences (AAAS)
  • Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASSAB)