Dr Julian Hill
Position: |
Senior Lecturer (Animal Nutrition) |
Address: |
LFR, University of Melbourne, Royal Pde, Parkville, 3010 |
Phone: |
+61-3- 8344 8841 |
Fax: |
+61-3- 8344 5037 |
Email: |
julianh@unimelb.edu.au |
Teaching:
Animal Nutrition (Farm livestock, companion animals and equine), Biology of companion animals and equines
Research:
Nutrition of grazing ruminants and horses including digestive processes, voluntary feed intake and feeding behaviour; feed characterisation and development of new methods of feed analysis; molecular ecology of the gut; impact of heavy metals on animal nutrition.
Other professional interests:
Modelling of nutrient flow in animals, plant and animal interactions in grazing systems; forage crop conservation systems; grassland invertebrate diversity research in relation to intensive managed pastures; use of probiotics in animal nutrition.
Recent projects and consultancies:
Use of DGGE to characterise microbial community structure in the equid digestive tract; Extracellular peroxidases as a method to improve cell wall digestibility; Probiotics for equine feeding systems.
Recent publications
- Naujeck, A. and Hill, J. 2003. Influence of sward height on bite dimensions of horses. Animal Science 77: 95-100.
- Wilkinson , J.M. Hill, J. and Phillips, C.J.C. 2003 Environmental factors affecting the accumulation of heavy metals by grazing animals. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 62: 267-277.
- Gardiner, T.A., Field, R.G., Pye, M. and Hill, J. 2003. The influence of sward height and vegetation composition on the occurrence of three Chorthippus species (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in grassland habitats. Journal of Orthoptera Research 11: 207-213
- Hill. J. 2002. Effect of level of inclusion and method of presentation of a single distillery by-product on the processes of ingestion of concentrate feeds by horses. Livestock Production Science 75: 209-218.
- Hill, J., Xiao, G.Q., and Ball, A.S. 2001. Role of Streptomyces achromogenes ISP 5028 in production of silage from poor quality grass. Animal Feed Science and Technology 89: 89-102.
Potential Honours Projects
Honours projects in the area of animal nutrition and equine science might involve students in:
- Understanding why horses develop a strategy of grazing patches (“lawns and roughs” and how the pattern of grazing impacts on pasture management.
- Measurement of bite depth, volume, pattern of chewing and biting in horses grazing different pasture grasses.
- Chemical characterisation and nutritive value of conserved forages used as supplements for grazing ruminants.
- Use of novel feed enzymes or probiotics to improve the digestibility of feeds in a range of animals
- Use of in vitro systems to understand the impact of pollutants on digestive and physiological processes.