Dr Lisa Holmes

I have a variety of experience working in the finance and education sectors prior to embarking on my scientific career. I obtained my undergraduate degree in Animal Behaviour from Liverpool John Moores University, conducting my dissertation research on female social behaviour in Siamese fighting fish. I then went on to complete my PhD at the University of Liverpool investigating the physiological and reproductive consequences of social competition in cooperatively breeding mammals.

I joined Chester Zoo as Scientific Assistant in 2013 and was responsible for managing research requests and supervising undergraduate student projects. In 2015 I was promoted to the role of Lead Conservation Scientist in Behaviour and Welfare and since then have built-up a team of scientists who work closely with the Animal Curators and Keepers to develop research that aims to monitor and optimise wellbeing for the animals in our care.

In my roles as Vice-Chair of the EAZA and BIAZA Animal Welfare Working Groups, I help to develop strategic policy and practical guidance documents for other zoos, and collaborate with colleagues to undertake multi-institution research. I supervise a number of students from masters to PhD level as well as our Voluntary Work Placement students who undertake a year in industry as part of their undergraduate or inter-calculated masters degrees. I hold an honorary position at the University of Liverpool, deliver a range of lectures and workshops to both students and staff, and I am a member of Chester Zoo’s Ethical Review Committee.

Key publications

Finch, K., Waterman, J.O., Cowl, V., Marshall, A., Underwood, L., Williams, L.J., Davis, N. and Holmes, L. (2022) Island Life: Use of activity budgets and visibility to evaluate a multi-species within-zoo exhibit move. Animals, 12 (6): 2123. DOI: 10.3390/ani12162123

Finch, K., Leary, M., Holmes, L. and Williams, L.J. (2022) Zoo closure does not affect behavior and activity patterns of Palawan binturong (Arctictis binturong whitei). Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens. DOI: 10.3390/jzbg3030030

Waterman, J.O., McNally, R., Harrold, D., Cook, M., Garcia, G., Fidgett, A.L., Holmes, L. (2021) Evaluating environmental enrichment methods in three zoo-housed Varanidae Lizard Species. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens. DOI: 10.3390/jzbg2040051

Williams, L.J., Finch, K., Agnew, R. & Holmes, L (2021) Effects of nearby construction work on behavior of Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica). Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens, 2: 66-74. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg2010005

Evison E, McKenzie A, Holmes L (2020). Social and environmental impacts on sleep in captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Zoo Biology https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.21568 

Holmes, L., Edwards, K.L., Moss, A., Tollington, S., Fowler, A., Hughes, D. and Sudell, M. (2020) Statistics at the Zoo. Significance. DOI: 10.1111/1740-9713.01446

Finch, K., Williams, L.J. and Holmes, L. (2020) Using longitudinal data to evaluate the behavioural impact of a switch to carcass feeding on an Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica). Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, 8 (4): DOI: 10.19227/jzar.v8i4.475

Stockley, P., Bottell, L. (now Holmes, L.) and Hurst, J.L. 2013. Wake up and smell the conflict: odour signals in female competition. Royal Society Philosophical Transactions B, 368 (1631) DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0082