Prof. Sonia Rey Planellas
Professor, Department of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, UK.
She has been working in the field of animal behaviour, physiology and welfare of individuals and groups of animals for the past 20 years. Her main expertise is on fish behaviour and welfare but has also worked with other species like marine mammals and crustaceans. Dr Rey research interests are on the convergent evolution of animal cognition and sentience through a comparative approach between closely and distantly related species. She studies 1) How behaviours related to animal personalities have evolved within and between closely and distant related species 2) How emotions like pain, fear, anxiety, or happiness have evolved from invertebrates to the vertebrates and 3) How the understanding of animal behaviour and the interaction with the environment can help to improve the welfare of the species under different contexts: from animal production to conservation purposes.