The team

Calandreau Ludovic

I am interested in animal behaviour, particularly animal emotions and cognitive abilities. I conduct my research primarily in domestic birds, such as chickens and Japanese quail. My current research projects explore so-called “higher-order” cognitive abilities that have not yet been investigated in these birds. Indeed, the breadth of the cognitive repertoire underlying many behaviours remains poorly understood in domestic birds. My initial training as a neurobiologist also leads me to investigate the neural circuits underlying the behaviours and cognitive abilities I study. My research is fundamental in nature, but it can also have practical implications: characterising the biological bases of emotions and cognitive abilities in farm animals can inform discussions and advances in their welfare under farming conditions. In this context, I am involved in several bodies with a particular interest in poultry farming and animal welfare, serving as co-coordinator of the BECOME Joint Technology Unit and as a member of ITAVI’s Scientific Council. Finally, I co-coordinate the RECABEE scientific network and the NEC (Neurobiology, Ethology and Cognition) programme within the SSBCV Doctoral School in Tours and Orléans.

ludovic.calandreau@inrae.fr

Lansade Léa

Since the 2000s, I have been working at the INRAE Centre Val de Loire research centre on horse behaviour and, more recently, cattle behaviour. My research focuses on three main themes: personality, the relationship between cognition and emotion, and animal welfare. My work on equine personality has led to the development of behavioural tests measuring five dimensions, including fearfulness, gregariousness and sensitivity. Using these tests, we have identified genetic and environmental factors that can influence personality in young horses. In the field of cognition and emotion, I investigate animals’ abilities. Our experiments have shown that horses can experience a broad range of emotions and communicate them to others through characteristic facial expressions, which we have begun to identify. Horses are also highly sensitive to the emotions of other horses and of humans, a phenomenon known as emotional contagion. Regarding cognitive abilities more specifically, we explore capacities such as object permanence and the attribution of intentions or attentional states. Recently, I have extended this research to a species that has received relatively little attention in animal cognition research: cattle. Our initial findings show that they are just as sensitive as horses to our emotions and attentional states. I also regularly conduct projects with direct practical applications in close collaboration with professionals. Finally, my work on animal welfare focuses on assessment tools and ways to improve welfare. Together with collaborators, I lead projects aimed at better understanding the relationships between animal welfare, the microbiota, certain biological markers (e.g. transcriptomic analysis of blood cells) and health. Each year, I supervise PhD students, as well as one or more engineering or Master’s students, introducing them to these areas of research. I also share this research through books, such as Dans la tête d’un cheval (Inside a Horse’s Mind, published by Humensciences), and public talks. Some of these talks are available on IFCE’s YouTube channel, Equi-VOD.

lea.lansade@inrae.fr

Ferreira Vitor

My research focuses on the cognition, behaviour and welfare of domestic birds, particularly chickens and quail. I seek to understand how these animals perceive their world, learn and interact with their physical and social environments, including both other members of their species and humans. I am particularly interested in how domestication and artificial selection have shaped their cognitive abilities, behaviour and emotional responses. By comparing different domestic populations and their wild relatives, I explore the diversity of cognitive and behavioural profiles, both between populations and among individuals. I also investigate how individual characteristics, such as personality and social motivation, contribute to this diversity. Through this research, I aim to better understand how evolutionary history, selection and individual experience interact to shape behaviour and cognition. In the longer term, this knowledge could help inform farming practices and environments that better meet birds’ behavioural, cognitive and social needs, accounting for their diversity and promoting positive experiences that contribute to their welfare.

vitor.ferreira@inrae.fr

Guesdon Vanessa

My research focuses on how farm animals cope with the complexity of their physical and social environments, and the consequences for their welfare. My work primarily concerns alternative poultry and fish farming systems and centres on two main areas: 1. Assessing animal welfare through the development and validation of indicators. 2. Improving animal welfare by investigating individual differences in personality and cognitive abilities, and using animals’ cognitive abilities to enrich their living environments. My expertise is also regularly sought to review scientific and professional publications, evaluate research projects (for IFCE), and contribute to expert assessments (for example, for the French Reference Centre for Animal Welfare) for institutions and industry organisations. I have also sought to put my commitment to animal behaviour research at the service of the wider ethology community. This is reflected in my active involvement in SFECA (the French Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour), of which I am currently President.

vanessa.guesdon@junia.com

Germain Karine

My research focuses on poultry, particularly alternative poultry farming systems. It aims to identify new animal welfare indicators based on the expression of positive behaviours and to investigate innovative farming practices that support welfare. My systems approach allows me to assess animal welfare holistically, under conditions close to commercial practice, while integrating the different dimensions of farming. Working closely with poultry sector stakeholders, I aim to jointly develop practical solutions to improve animal welfare. My expertise is sought by institutions and industry organisations to evaluate research publications and projects. I am also a member of the BECOME Joint Technology Unit (INRAE/ITAVI/SYSAAF), dedicated to poultry farming and welfare, and of a working group developing a bird welfare assessment tool for INRAE experimental units.

karine.germain@inrae.fr

Ruet Alice

I currently work as a Research and Development Engineer focusing on equine welfare at IFCE and within the Cognition, Ethology and Animal Welfare (CEB) team. I lead applied research projects on welfare in relation to equine housing and use. I also share scientific knowledge through accessible articles, talks, podcasts and contributions to specialist publications, and deliver animal welfare training for a wide range of audiences. I contribute to expert assessments at national and European levels and belong to expert networks, including the French Reference Centre for Animal Welfare (CNR BEA), ANSES’s Thematic Steering Committee on Animal Health, Nutrition and Welfare, and the One Welfare Joint Technology Network (RMT).

alice.ruet@ifce.fr

Cognié Juliette

juliette.cognie@inrae.fr

Jardat Plotine

During my PhD, I studied horses’ perception of human emotions. We showed that horses can perceive various human cues, including facial expressions, vocal intonations and even body odours, reflecting different emotional states such as happiness, sadness and fear. These emotional cues influence both horses’ behaviour and physiology, directly affecting their welfare. More broadly, my research focuses on equine behaviour and welfare. I aim to deepen our understanding of horses by examining their behaviour in relation to their physiology, health and social interactions, both within and between species. In particular, I study these aspects in working contexts to help improve their welfare during interactions with humans.

plotine.jardat@ifce.fr

Ricci-Bonot Claire

In recent years, my research has focused on improving horse welfare, particularly through better recognition of their emotional states. To do this, I have used various indicators, including facial expressions, behaviour and physiological measures. For example, I led a project aimed at identifying facial expressions associated with frustration during feeding in horses. I have also investigated individual responses to potentially stressful situations, such as changes in housing, separation or the loss of a companion. This work has led me to develop and use new approaches, including methods based on artificial intelligence. Alongside this, I have worked on cognition in detection dogs, with the aim of improving their performance in the field. Part of my research focused on new methods for assessing scent detection distance, as well as cognitive tasks involving the learning of concepts such as “same” and “different”. I am currently a postdoctoral researcher on the Emodour project, which aims to determine whether horses are sensitive to human body odours associated with emotional states. Alongside my research activities, I have been involved in the COST Action AFFECT-EVO (“Phylogenetic Analysis of Affective States”) since late 2024. I contribute to two working groups: one focused on advancing fundamental knowledge of affective states across species, and the other on assessing these states to improve animal welfare. I am also involved in the ManyGoats research group, which aims to improve goat welfare through better management practices. Finally, as a member of the Ethics Committee of the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE), I help ensure the welfare of animals used in research, notably by reviewing presentations submitted to international conferences.

claire.ricci-bonot@inrae.fr

Amichaud Océane

PhD topic: Exploring the concept of agency in cows to improve welfare. Supervisors: Léa LANSADE and Ludovic CALANDREAU New approaches to animal welfare now include the notion of a positive mental state. Rather than simply seeking to minimise negative experiences such as stress and pain, these approaches aim to create situations that generate positive affective states, within a “positive welfare” framework. One emerging theory of positive welfare, proposed by Špinka, centres on the concept of agency. According to this theory, enabling animals to control their environment, better predict what happens to them and make informed choices could promote a positive mental state. This raises the question of the level of agency animals can achieve: to what extent do they perceive and understand their environment sufficiently to make choices that benefit them both in the short and longer term? Špinka’s framework proposes four levels of agency of increasing complexity. These range from basic stimulus–response processes to a level requiring complex cognitive abilities, enabling animals to make choices with long-term benefits through prospective planning and autobiographical reflection. This project aims to determine what level of agency cows can achieve and to propose environmental enrichment suited to their abilities.

oceane.amichaud@inrae.fr

Gouis Jeanne

**PhD topic:** Investigating domestic hens’ socio-cognitive abilities in relation to humans. **Supervisors:** Ludovic CALANDREAU and Nadia AGUILLON-HERNANDEZ Domestication appears to have shaped the development of cognitive abilities in domestic animals, particularly farm animals, by favouring those involved in interactions with humans. This hypothesis has been investigated in farm animals primarily through studies of species such as pigs and horses. However, there is a notable lack of research on farmed birds such as domestic chickens, whose global population exceeded 30 billion in 2023. This project aims to address this gap by investigating laying hens’ socio-cognitive abilities in relation to humans. Combining behavioural approaches with innovative tools for studying cognition, such as touchscreens, the project will examine a broad range of cognitive abilities of increasing complexity. These will range from the basic ability to discriminate between human faces to more complex skills, such as forming concepts based on the interpretation of emotions expressed in human faces. We will also explore whether hens can process human cues, such as gaze and gestures, and adjust their behaviour accordingly. The findings could broaden our understanding of the evolution of cognitive abilities in the context of domestication, while also influencing the status of these animals and how they are perceived.

jeanne.gouis@inrae.fr

Benzekri Yanis

I currently work as a Research Engineer within the Cognition, Ethology and Animal Welfare (CEB) team. My activities primarily involve developing and implementing experimental protocols to study the behaviour and cognitive abilities of domestic chickens. I contribute to experimental design and implementation, as well as the collection, coding and analysis of behavioural data. The project I work on aims to better understand how domestication and artificial selection have shaped chicken behaviour and cognition. To this end, we compare three domestic breeds with contrasting domestication and selection histories—Fayoumi, Padovana and White Leghorn—alongside the main wild ancestor of domestic chickens, the red junglefowl (*Gallus gallus*). We focus particularly on play behaviour, emotional reactivity, social motivation, cognitive abilities, and interactions with other chickens and humans.

yanis.benzekri@inrae.fr

Cornilleau Fabien

My role involves managing experimental protocols related to the team’s research in behaviour and neurobiology. In particular, I contribute to the development of new testing systems to investigate animal behaviour, especially cognitive abilities. We develop innovative systems that display images or symbols on a touchscreen. Animals can then peck these symbols to obtain an automatically delivered reward. Such systems can potentially be used to investigate a wide range of cognitive abilities of interest to the team, including learning, memory and concept formation. I also contribute my technical expertise in neurobiology to the team’s projects and collaborative research aimed at characterising the neural circuits underlying behaviour. I am a member of my unit’s service council and quality committee.

fabien.cornilleau@cnrs.fr

Lemarchand Julie

My first role is to develop tools and methods to characterise animal behaviour and aspects of animals’ mental world, particularly cognition. My second role, closely linked to the first, is to unravel the neural circuits involved in these mental processes. Our team’s distinctive focus is on farm animal species. I conduct projects both under experimental conditions and in the field. This work informs ongoing discussions about ethics and the status of animals, an important topic within research institutes conducting experiments in animal biology. In this context, I serve as Deputy Chair of the Val de Loire Regional Ethics Committee (CEEA No. 19).

julie.lemarchand@cnrs.fr