Erling Strandberg

My research mainly concerns the genetics of behavior in dogs, dairy cattle genetics and some studies related to developing countries.

I am mainly teaching in the course Animal Genetics - Health, behaviour and welfare and in our introductory breeding courses. I have also been responsible for the course on Dogs and Cats - biology and use up to 2022.

I have been involved in several projects that have been aimed at quantifying the amount of genetic variation (and covariation) in various types of traits in various species. The traits studied have been fertility, health, behavior, maternal ability, performance or production, and longevity; and the species dairy cattle, pigs, poultry, horses, and dogs. I have several collaborative projects with, e.g.,  VikingGenetics and Växa (regarding dairy cattle) and the Swedish Kennel Club.

• Professor in animal breeding and genetics, SLU, 2003
• Associate professor (Docent) SLU, 1997
• PhD in Animal Breeding (AgrD) SLU, 1991
• Master of Science (Dairy Science) Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, 1983
• Master of Science in Agriculture (Animal Science) SLU, 1982

Currently I am working with the following PhD-student projects:

• Use of cow genotyping to improve genetic progress, farm profit and food production in Sweden (industry PhD student Christian Bengtsson, VikingGenetics)
• Studies of pregnancy loss in dairy cattle - Patricia Gullstrand
• Individually adapted lactation lengths in dairy cattle - Anna Edvardsson Rasmussen, PhD student at dept of animal nutrition and management
• Selection strategies in Swedish Warmblood horses - Sandra Bonow
• Breeding for improved trotting in horses - Paulina Berglund

Recently finished PhD-student projects

• Crossbreeding in dairy cattle: novel breeding tools for sustainable dairy and beef production - Julie Brastrup Clasen
• Phenotypic and genetic characterization, conservation and breeding programs of Creole cattle in Cochabamba and Tarija (Bolivia) - Gabriela Bottani
• Comparison of the performance traits between indigenous cattle and its crossbreds in Rwanda- Maximillian Manzi
• International breeding programs to improve health in pedigree dogs - Shizhi Wang
• Genetic variation in sensitivity to environmental changes in dairy cattle - Ahmed Ismael Sayed
• Sustainable breeding strategies for ruminants in Eastern and Southern Africa – Emelie Zonabend König

Dogs

• Wang, S., Strandberg, E., Arvelius, P., Clements, D.N.,  Wiener, P. & Friedrich, J. 2021. Genome-wide association studies for canine hip dysplasia in single and multiple populations – implications and potential novel risk loci. BMC Genomics 22 (1), 1-12
• Friedrich, Juliane, Talenti, Andrea; Arvelius, Per; Strandberg, Erling; Haskell, Marie; Wiener, Pamela. 2020. Unravelling selection signatures in a single dog breed suggests recent selection for morphological and behavioral traits. Advanced Genetics. 2020; 1:e10024
• Friedrich, Juliane., Erling Strandberg, Per Arvelius, Enrique Sánchez-Molano, Ricardo Pong-Wong, John Hickey, Marie Haskell, Pamela Wiener. 2019. Genetic dissection of complex behaviour traits in German Shepherd dogs. Heredity 123 (6), 746-7581.
• Friedrich, J., P. Arvelius, E. Strandberg, Z. Polgar, P. Wiener, and M. J. Haskell. 2019. The interaction between behavioural traits and demographic and management factors in German Shepherd dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 211:67-76.

Dairy cattle

• Bengtsson, C., Stålhammar, H., Thomasen, J.R., Eriksson, S., Fikse, W.F., Strandberg, E. 2022. Mating allocations in Nordic Red Dairy Cattle using genomic information. J. Dairy Sci. 105 (2), 1281-1297
• Niyonzima, Y.B., D’Andre Hirwa, C., Strandberg, E., Manzi, M. Ntawubizi, M. and Rydhmer, L. 2021. The effect of high temperature and humidity on milk yield in Ankole and crossbred cows. Tropical Animal Health and Production 54:1-11
• Manzi, M., L. Rydhmer, M. Ntawubizi, C. Hirwa, C. Karege, and E. Strandberg. 2020. Milk production and lactation length of Ankole cattle and Ankole crossbreds in Rwanda. Tropical Animal Health and Production https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-020-02311-9
• Tarekegn, G.M., J. Karlsson, C. Kronqvist, B. Berglund, K. Holtenius & E. Strandberg. 2021. Genetic parameters of forage dry matter intake and milk produced from forage in Swedish Red and Holstein dairy cows. J. Dairy Sci. 104:4424-4440
• Tarekegn, E. Strandberg, S. Andonov, R. Båge, P. Gullstrand, E. Rius-Vilarrasa, J.M. Christensen, B. Berglund. 2021. Single-step genome-wide association study uncovers known and novel candidate genomic regions for endocrine and classical fertility traits in Swedish Red and Holstein dairy cows. Livestock Sci. 253, 10473
• Ask-Gullstrand, P., E. Strandberg, R. Båge, J.M. Christensen, B. Berglund. 2021. Genetic parameters for reproductive losses estimated from in-line milk progesterone profiles in Swedish dairy cattle. J. Dairy Sci. 104:3231-3239
• Bengtsson, C., Stålhammar, H., Strandberg, E., Eriksson, S., Fikse, W.F., 2020. Association of genomically enhanced and parent average breeding values with cow performance in Nordic dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 103, 6383–6391.
• Clasen, J.B., Fikse, W.F., Kargo, M., Rydhmer, L., Strandberg, E. and Østergaard, S. 2020. Economic consequences of dairy crossbreeding in conventional and organic herds in Sweden. J. Dairy Sci. 103:514-528