Bob Mayes

Dr Bob Mayes trained as a ruminant nutritionist and, for over 30 years, has specialised in research on grazing sheep and cattle. During his time at the Institute, Bob gained expertise in measuring metabolite turnover and energy expenditure in grazing ruminants. He also studied the behaviours of radioactive, heavy metal and organic pollutants in livestock. However, his main achievements have been associated with the development of methodologies for measuring dietary intake, digestibility and plant species composition in grazing herbivores. These techniques, which use the chemical compounds in the wax of dietary plants as faecal markers, are now used by researchers world-wide; his original scientific paper on intake measurement using n-alkane markers now has over 365 ISI citations. The applications of these markers (hydrocarbons, fatty alcohols and fatty acids) have been extended to study the diets of wild animals, including non-ruminant herbivores and insectivorous birds and mammals. In 2008, Bob became an Honorary Life Member of the British Society of Animal Science, in recognition of his contribution to advances in animal science research.

Bob has, in recent work, applied the techniques for analysing plant wax compounds to soil samples. These compounds are very long-lived in soil and can be used as markers to indicate past changes in vegetation cover. In collaboration with other Macaulay staff, Bob has demonstrated that the plant wax markers and associated compounds can be used as an effective tool in soil forensic investigations.