Maria Camila Ceballos Betancourt

Biography

Dr. Maria Camila Ceballos graduated in Animal Science in Colombia, at The National University of Colombia (2010). Following the completion of her undergraduate studies, she has worked in the field of animal welfare and behavior, first as a researcher in the CIPAV Foundation (Center for Research in Sustainable Systems of Agricultural Production), in Colombia, focusing on the evaluation of dairy and beef cattle welfare and behavior in sustainable production systems. Then, she started a Masters at the São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil, addressing the effects of handling frequency of cattle kept under rotational and alternative grazing systems, with a focus on how cattle handling impacted their temperament. Afterward, she completed her Ph.D. at the same University (UNESP), focused on human-cattle relationships and its effects on cattle welfare, as reflected in temperament, behavior, physiology, and performance measures. By the end of her Ph.D. program, Maria Camila secured an internship at the Animal Welfare Science Centre (University of Melbourne - Australia), where she participated in a project focused on the human-animal relationship and dairy cattle welfare. In 2018, she started working at the University of Pennsylvania, the USA, as a post-doctoral researcher, mainly focusing on assessing the welfare and behavior of breeding sows housed in different housing systems. Dr. Ceballos is currently an Assistant Professor in Beef Cattle Welfare and Behavior, W.A. Ranches at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. 

Publications

Ceballos, M.C.; Gois, K.C.R; Parsons, T.D. Hinged farrowing crates improve lactating sows’ welfare. 2020. 
Applied Animal Behavior Science. 105068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2020.105068 

Tarazona, A.M.; Ceballos, M.C.; Broom, D.M. 2020. Human relationships with other animals: one health, one welfare, one biology. Animals. 10, 43. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10010043

Travnik, I. de C; Machado, D. de S.; Gonçalves, L. da S.; Ceballos, M.C.; Sant’Anna, A. C. Temperament in Domestic Cats: A Review of Proximate Mechanisms, Methods of Assessment, Its Effects on Human-Cat Relationships, and One Welfare. Animals. 10(9):1516. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10091516 

Machado, D. de S., Oliveira, P.M.B., Machado, J.C., Ceballos, M.C., Sant’Anna, A. C. 2020. Identification of separation related problems in domestic cats: a questionnaire survey. Plos One. 15(4): e0230999. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230999 

Sant’Anna, A. C., Valente, T. S, Braga Magalhães, A. F.; Espigolan, R., Ceballos, M. C., Albuquerque, L. G., Paranhos da Costa, M. J. R. 2019. Relationships between temperament, meat quality and carcass traits in Nellore cattle. Journal of Animal Science, 97, 4721–4731. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skz324 

Abreu de Lima, V, Ceballos, M.C, Gregory, N.G, Paranhos da Costa, M.J.R. 2019. Effect of different catching practices during manual upright handling on broiler welfare and behavior, Poultry Science, 98, 4282-4289. pez284, https://doi.org/10.3382/ps/pez284  8

Ceballos, M.C, Sant’Anna, A.C, Boivin, X, Costa, F.O, Carvalhal, M.V.L, Paranhos da Costa, M.J.R. 2018. Impact of good practices of handling training on beef cattle welfare and stockpeople attitudes and behaviors. Livestock Science, 216, 24 - 31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2018.06.019

Ceballos, M.C.; Sant’Anna, A.C.; Gois, K.C.R.; Ferraudo, A.S.; Negrao, J.A.; Paranhos da Costa, M.J.R. 2018. Investigating the relationship between human-animal interactions, reactivity, stress response and reproductive performance in Nellore heifers. Livestock Science. 216, 65 - 75. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2018.08.001

Ceballos, M.C, Sant’Anna, A.C. Evolução da ciência do bem-estar animal: aspectos conceituais e metodológicos. 2018. Revista Acadêmica: Ciência Animal, 2018;16 (Ed Esp 1) : e161103. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7213/1981-4178.2018.161103

Tarazona, A.; Ceballos, M.C.; Correa, G.; Cuartas, C.A.; Naranjo, J.F.; Paranhos da Costa, M. 2017. Welfare of cattle kept in intensive silvopastoral systems: A case report. In: Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia (Online), v.46, 478 - 488. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1806-92902017000600002  
 
Ceballos, M.C; Góis, K.C.R; Carvalhal, M.V.L; Costa, F.O.; Paranhos da Costa, M. 2016. Environmental enrichment for rabbits reared in cages reduces abnormal behaviors and inactivity. In: Ciência Rural, v.46, 1088-1093. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0103-8478cr20150898  

Ceballos, M.C.; Gois, K.C.R.; Sant’Anna, A.C.; Paranhos da Costa, M.J.R. 2016. Frequent handling of grazing beef cattle maintained under the rotational stocking method improves temperament over time. In: Animal Production Science. 58(2),307:313. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/AN16025 

Ceballos, M.C.; Gois, K.C.R. 2016. Implicações da relação humano-animal no bem-estar dos animais de fazenda. In: Revista Brasileira de Zoociências, v.17, 45-50. URL: https://zoociencias.ufjf.emnuvens.com.br/zoociencias/article/view/2889/2117 

Gois, K.C.R.; Ceballos, M.C.; Sant’Anna, A.C.; Paranhos da Costa, M. J. R. 2016. Using an observer rating method to assess the effects of rotational stocking method on beef cattle temperament over time. In: Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia (Online), v.45, 501-508. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1806-92902016000900001